Interview with the CEO of Monstera Games About Their New Platform, the Monstera Games Platform
Aug 15, 2022 | 1 Votes
by Mikhail
10
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Monstera Games has evolved into an HTML5 games distributor and launched the Monstera Games Platform. We talked with the CEO, Yuval Koren, about what this entails and what their future plans are.
We've done a feature piece about the Monstera Games Platform or MGP, but we wanted to know more about MGP, and what the CEO of Monstera Games has in mind for the platform, so we've reached out to the Yuval yet again and he was delighted to indulge our curiosity.
1. From an HTML 5 games studio to an HTML 5 games distributor, what spurred the leap from creating games to providing a platform for others to embed your games on their websites?
Being an all-around company, we have full control over our games' development and marketing. This means that we can get first-hand data on the performance of our games and how well they are being received by our players. Needless to say, the games were a hit and we started gaining more confidence, getting ready for the next step.
This was when opportunity came knocking on our door! Google approached us to become a content partner in the games vertical - one of the early adopters of their latest product, AdSense for Platforms - and we leaped at the opportunity.
Seeing our games embedded in other verticals makes us very proud. We are happy that our games can be enjoyed by a broader audience.
2. Can you tell us more about the Monstera Games Platform or MGP? What is it about, and how does it work?
As mentioned, the Monstera Games Platform is based on a partnership between PiKoYa, the owners of Monstera Games Studio, and Google via their AdSense for Platforms product. The platform itself was developed by the very experienced PiKoYa Software team.
So the flow here is that the Monstera Games Studio develops the games. The games are then uploaded to the platform, complete with images from the Design team and descriptions from the Content team.
Once onboarded, the platform’s clients can easily pull one line of code, and embed the selected games on their websites.
The games are all monetized by Google, which enabled us to place advanced ad formats inside the games, such as interstitials and rewarded videos, which can usually be seen only in mobile apps.
3. What do you think sets Monstera Games Platform apart from other service providers?
There are quite a few things that set us apart from other providers.
First and foremost, all the games are developed internally by our studio, which means we have control over their quality. We can improve them and add more content over time. It also allows us to create specific games based on our clients’ requests.
In addition, the partnership with Google helps us perform really well in terms of monetization. We see as much as x10 more revenue coming from the embeddable HTML 5 games, compared to other platforms.
Of course, having the reporting, tracking, and payments facilitated by Google make things very easy, and also lets us focus on what we do best and love - develop the games.
Also, the client has a lot of control over which ads will appear in the games, inside their AdSense account, whereas most other platforms don’t even provide basic blocking controls.
4. Where do you see the Monstera Games Platform being utilized besides gaming sites?
Of course, a games site is the easiest implementation, but we see the platform being utilized in many other types of websites, allowing our clients to embed free HTML 5 games on any website they want.
For example, news websites and portals can benefit greatly, because their audience really likes having a games section. I’ve been reading about how The New York Times utilized a game (Wordle) to increase their subscriptions and their brand awareness. It is a really nice case study.
Another interesting option is food order websites. While the client is waiting for their food to arrive, it can be interesting to let them play games from our selection of games, so as to pass the time faster while they are hungry.
5. Currently, the platform only features games from the Monstera Games studio. Are there any plans to rope in other talented independent developers or even indie studios who might be looking for a platform to promote their HTML 5 games?
At the moment, we’re planning to have all the games on the Monstera Games Platform to be developed in-house, but that might change in the future. Having said that, we are always happy to work with developers and art studios who can take part and help us build our games.
6. We see that there are lots of games on the platform, but there is a noticeable lack in action-oriented games. Will there be more such games added to the platform in the future or is the focus of the studio currently on casual puzzle games?
That’s a very good question. Before we built the platform, we focused mainly on developing games for our website, Games4Grandma, and the audience there loved casual puzzle games.
Now, we do see the huge demand for action-oriented games, which we also love, and we promise that there are definitely many more of these games coming!
7. Are there any plans to launch the games on the Monstera Games Platform on mobile gaming markets like Google Play?
Currently, our focus is HTML 5 games as we believe the web, as an open platform, is really great for games. Our games can improve the general quality of online web games that players can enjoy.
Plus, developing a good amount of games and also promoting them on our own game portals definitely gives us a strong feel of how a game will perform.
However, if one of our games shows extraordinary performance and potential, we will consider porting it over to other platforms as well, possibly with a publishing partner.
8. Things are looking bright for Monstera Games and HTML5 games in general. Where do you see the Monstera Games Platform heading in the future?
We’d like to see it grow in the same direction it's going now, with more games added, and more clients onboarded.
Our goal is that when you think of adding HTML 5 games to a website, the Monstera Games Platform comes instantly to mind, and we’re willing to work hard to achieve it.
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