With its hit game Lumbercraft, which took first place on iOS and Android, Noor Games has established itself as a leading hyper-casual game development studio. Today, the team is working with Supersonic on Basket Battle and bringing the game to number one on Android.

The idea for Basket Battle

Hyper-casual prototypes are unique concepts — once the team has a list of ideas, developers choose the ones they believe more to get started. The studio believes that if the team doesn’t support the concept one hundred per cent, it’s best to leave the idea behind.

Basket Battle was no exception. The game began as an idea inspired by a runner with catch-and-throw mechanics. The team believed in the concept and created a prototype with similar mechanics but changed the core-gameplay. Instead of a runner, the new concept involved battling an opponent and achieving a specific result to pass a level. After prototyping, the studio tested a couple of levels with Supersonic.

The first tests showed that the game has great potential with high CPI and in-game metrics:

CPI = $0.22;
Retention in D1 = 59%;
Game time in D0 >1000s.

These KPIs proved that the game is engaging and in demand.

Noor Games didn’t need to make many changes. The studio had already collaborated with Supersonic when publishing Join Numbers and was in sync with the publishing team on changes to improve the game. After tests, the team redesigned the levels and bonus games and introduced a tournament feature.
Arshak Kroyan, senior game developer at Noor Games

The Supersonic team helped Noor Games with monetization. After A/B tests, the studio implemented features that increased ARPU:

Introduced skins;
Added an in-game store;
Optimized ad placement and display times.

Achieving Noor Games top 1 on Android

After testing and optimization, the team prepared for launch. Good test scores proved to be an accurate indicator of the game’s success — reaching the top 1 on Android, entering the top 10 on iOS in the U.S. and breaking even within two months. Today, Noor Games is still making improvements to the game and working with the Supersonic team to increase LTV.

Sharing knowledge and striving to improve skills as developers is vital to Noor Games. Twice a week, the team holds Leaning Times – learning sessions such as deconstructing a hit game, discussing an industry article or reading relevant books together. Collaborating with Supersonic has helped advance goals through the transparency of the publishing process. The studio openly discusses issues of interest with the Supersonic team. The publisher is as invested in Noor Games as in the game itself.
Arshak Kroyan, senior game developer at Noor Games

Side note: Tippy Toe has surpassed 15 million downloads.