Royal Match first hit the market in 2021. At the time, it was hard to believe that the game could achieve any success in such a competitive environment. But the success remains unprecedented: the game became the best of the genre and earned almost 1 billion dollars! Can Dream Games repeat their success with their second game, Royal Kingdom, or are they a one-hit-wonder? The Deconstructor of Fun tried to look into this issue.

A side note: Guide to Hyper-Casual and Hybrid-Casual Gaming KPIs: How to Measure Your Game’s Success

Many studios, having achieved success, are then forced to experiment with genres, methods of monetisation or other elements of game development. Many resort to something new, and Dream Games is no exception. They are expanding their success with the launch of the newest game Royal Kingdom, which has given one of the smoothest and most comfortable gameplay experiences on the market in a similar genre.

Royal Kingdom

There are many ways to move forward when you have the best in class match-3 switcher engine in the market. Instead of one upping the engine they built, they are looking to expand vertically by redefining competitive social. Maybe, Dream Games is attempting to expand beyond their primary audience by introducing casualized midcore inspired gaming elements.

To understand where Dream intends to go first, you need to look at the difference between their two games, Royal Match and Royal Kingdom.

The design of the Royal Kingdom levels is pretty much the same as in Royal Match. There are minor changes, but the player probably won’t notice or be able to remember anything. One might even suggest that it makes it even easier to transfer content (levels, features) between the two games.

Difference between 2 games. Can you see that?

The biggest glaring difference between the two games is the new attack mechanic that is baked into the natural linear progression and appears every 10 levels. This is Dream’s big swing in discovering what players might love next: They are placing their bets on social.

More than this, Dream has also decided to add Player Ranks, fueled by XP (experience points) in addition to keeping coins, which fund out of moves purchases.

Royal Kingdom’s new approach to light decoration/renovation feels much better as an isometric map divided into districts rather than a singular space. At the moment, the current soft launch build is focused only on the present outdoor areas, a contrast from the interior decoration that also existed in Royal Match.

Confirming our original thesis that Royal Kingdom is aimed at the more sophisticated casual player who enjoys competitive social networking, this map also follows what we usually find in simulation and empire games. While it’s not the strongest connection between the two, it’s worth naming.

All of which suggests that Royal Kingdom could easily replicate or even surpass the success of the first game from Dream Games. In fact, the developers have become more experienced, resulting in a great game – polished and improved, with the build-up from Royal Match.

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