Noxid_fps

I really feel your pain, as I am also doing the less hardcore game genres. (Puzzle, Causal, Arcade, Action) I've tried much of the same in Asia, though the geological location is different, we're seeing some very similar situations. Sharing some of the things I did over the past few years.

• Game reviews. Definitely like you said, the chance of getting it picked up by a magazine is very slim. And even after finally landing on some coverage with magazines in Taiwan and Hong Kong, we found that we're looking at a second problem. game review readers are often less inclined to play a casual / puzzle game after reading the articles. Less your game stands out among some of the AAA titles, or is becoming a trend that they have to be in for the moment, most players are not really going to bother downloading and trying it out a casual game at all.

• Apple and Google. We got lucky and was featured on Google Play twice, and the got invited to Google HQ after they site visited our office (I was really surprised when they said they want to come for a visit). On the other hand, we never heard a word from Apple. Yes, I mean ever since we made our first game back in 2013, never a single word from Apple over the 4-5 games we made. Only thing we ever get from Apple is, your app has been rejected. :P

• Facebook is indeed super expensive these days. Most of the mature markets cost you over two dollar USD to get a single download these days. (Too many people out there bidding for download, jacking the price to record breaking high everyday) Like you said, the eCPI simply can't justify the amount you get from rewarded ads or video ads. I find that this formula seems to work well with high LTV games with heavily reliance on IAP. For casual game developers, you'll get burn very easily.

• YouTube videos again is very similar game reviews. Chance of getting a big influencer to review your game is very slim at best. It is however, possible to make friends with some of lesser known YouTubers via other social media channels. At least they will have a little more time on hand, and perhaps willing to hear you out.

• Trying out Reddit now. I wonder how effective this may be. :D

It was a bit of both actually. Google featured our games a few times but we never heard a word from them. We just found out one morning "Hey! We're on the front page!?" :D

Later on, when I attended to game shows, I came across some of the Google staff. I gave them my card, and they were like, "Oh! You're that indie game we featured not too long ago!" We had some chats, exchanged emails, but they are very honest with me. The team choosing what to put on the feature section do not go around to do greet and meet. Even if you manage to talk to some of the staff, they probably can't affect that particular team's decisions on what to put on the feature section. (Though I did hear from somewhere that you can actually pay to do a paid promotion these days, and they will feature you on the front page)

I'm also a game dev, though nowhere close to your experience level. Just wondering, you've worked on a AAA title with a studio that has one of the longest track records in the industry, that basically means you don't really need to worry too much about getting fans and purchases. But switching to being an indie mobile game, how are you planning to reach out to the players and get downloads?

Treat the following as just rumors. I heard that Google is now judging whether they will feature your game or not based on:

• Daily revenue (need to be at least like 2K USD daily revenue)
• Do you have promotion or branding that Google can ride on or collaborate with

So unless you are able to get on the red carpet, chances are, your game title will be given to a small team of Google staff who is buried under all the game titles in the region that they're responsible for.