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[RareSloth]

Hi everyone,

We're planning on making big improvements to our game app Yukon Warrior. We're debating whether or not to update the existing app or create a separate app.

Here's the list of pros and cons so far for creating a new app.

Pros:

- Existing users won't have to go to the appstore to get the new game as their existing one will be updated
- One app to maintain vs. 2

Cons:

- Won't be featured as a hot new game
- No initial download spike from  being a new app on the store
- Loss of a potential source of revenue from old app

Does anyone here have experience with this or advice to go either way? What would the game journalist's stance be? Would love to hear your thoughts, please share actual experience if you can! Thanks!

[ThemsAllTook]

Questions I'd ask myself if I were considering this:

• Do both the old version and the new version stand on their own as separate games?
• Would the update remove or fundamentally change gameplay that players might miss when it's gone/changed?
• If a new player purchases the new version, would they have any reason to subsequently purchase the old version?
• Will loyal fans want to give you more money for the new game, or will they be disappointed when they find out it could have been an update?

Be really sure you're not alienating your existing players in an attempt to get a short-term boost in sales. That's the sort of thing that creates severe backlash.

[Uncle Scotty]

Just read your question and have a couple of pieces of advice to offer, but I'm not a commercially successful developer so take my advice with a grain of salt...

If seen a few examples of Google Play reviews where players express anger that a dev has made a new version of a similar app to get away from bad reviews on a previous version. As a result, neither version is successful at getting a high rating or much exposure in the store. There is definitely a threat of alienating existing users, and making them angry could cause them to give future products bad reviews as well making it more and more difficult for you to have a commercial success. You want fans of your games and brand, so in my opinion updating the existing app is the best call.

I also think that the potential for a download spike from a new app is very overrated. I have never experienced a spike of downloads when posting a new app to Google Play. For me, downloads have tended to come slowly and in most cases as a result of hard work marketing and promoting my game, or just paying for advertising. Maybe a download spike will occur if you are a publisher that has a good amount of funding to put into advertising/marketing, but if you're an indie dev with a low or zero dollar marketing budget then I wouldn't count on any initial rush of downloads when you release an app. Getting downloads will probably actually be much more difficult than you expect, even for a free game.

Good luck though, and speaking of marketing please check out my latest mobile game for Android on Google Play, and leave a review if you enjoy it Thanks! It's called Uncle Scotty's Arcade At The End Of The Universe (AATEOTU).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.AnachronicDesigns.AATEOTU

[bdsowers]

What're the exact nature of the changes? That could help us give a more informed opinion.

Keep in mind that your existing users are the ones most likely to rate your game favorably. If you release an update, they will immediately see that update and you've got a solid base for positive feedback (I'd put in a new 'Rate Me' dialog to inspire them to re-rate the game). If you release the update as a separate game, you're dropping that audience and building up from scratch. Plus, as has been stated, you run the risk of alienating people.

Day one spikes aren't as relevant as they used to be. Apple & Google Play tossed out their "What's New" lists in favor of curated lists. So releasing a new game doesn't necessarily buy you as much. It's possible that a good update will get curated.

[EvilDingo]

This is something I've thought about as well, but in the end, I believe it's best for you to grow your audience long-term. I've always released updates, even major ones, instead of creating a new app. As a result, I get reviews like "I've had this game for years and it keeps getting better." Which is great for getting new people to try the game too.

[grayger]

I would create a new app if the existing one is totally failure in aspect of downloads and active users.