MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 15, 2014) - Today at GamesBeat San Francisco, Tango -- a leader in mobile messaging -- announced that its internally developed game, Road Riot, exceeded one million daily active users (DAUs). The free-to-play game also achieved a developer's coveted spot: a ranking as the No. 1 racing game in the U.S. Google Play store 1 , thanks to player demand, the marketing muscle of Tango's $25 million Global Games Fund and the stickiness of Tango's SDK.
At its peak performance during Labor Day weekend, Road Riot was the No. 6 game in the U.S. 2 , and ranked No. 26 overall 3 . As of today, the game's total downloads in the past year have surpassed the 10 million mark.
"This is a huge accomplishment and shows that our new publishing strategy, which we announced in July, is on the right track," said Jim Ying, Tango's VP of Games Publishing.
Tango's games publishing model offers a one-two punch: Within the app, third-party games get support through native ads, chat notifications, Tango Channels, as well as being listed as a feature game. Then, based on performance, top games receive promotion through off-platform marketing channels, financed by Tango's $25 million Global Games Fund.
Tango laid the foundation for its games strategy in Summer 2013 when it launched a third-party SDK that includes APIs and social features such as leaderboards, Tango friend lists, gifting and game invites. Those features have improved monetization and distribution:
- Games played by Tango members have up to three times the lifetime value (LTV) compared to the same games played by non-Tango members.
- Tango has nearly 250 million registered members who are highly engaged, and over 70 percent play mobile games in general, according to a Tango survey.
"In just two short months since announcing Tango's $25 million Global Games Fund, we have had around 100 developers reach out to us, and several games are in progress of being signed. Our relationships with developers have deepened, and we've been able to prove that on- and off-platform marketing brings eyeballs to the games that Tango publishes, with Road Riot being a great example of this success," continued Yang.
Developers who are interested in learning more about the Tango Global Games Fund should visit www.tango.me/global-games-fund .
Sources 1. App Annie : No. 1 Racing Game, Google Play 2. App Annie : No. 6 in Games, Google Play 3. App Annie : No. 26 in all apps, Google Play
About Tango Tango is a free mobile messaging service with more than 250 million registered members. Through communication, social features, and a compelling content platform, Tango members discover engaging ways to connect, get social and have fun. Tango has enhanced its messaging service with an innovative content platform for game developers, advertisers, and others. Tango is available on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Blackberry, Kindle Fire and PC, and it works across 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. Tango is available in 14 languages and has members in more than 224 countries. Founded in September 2009, Tango is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and has offices in Beijing, China, and Austin, Texas. Visit www.tango.me for more information.
Media Contact: Nora Murray Shift Communications 415-591-8455 TangoPR@shiftcomm.com
