Matt's Community Letter - End of Year Edition

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since my last update, and for that, I sincerely apologize. August onward is always a whirlwind for me and the team at InnoGames, and unfortunately, this slipped through the cracks a bit. That’s no excuse—I’m committed to being more consistent with updates in 2025.

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: Quantum Incursions (QI).

When we launched QI, we were thrilled with the reception. The data was largely positive, and the participation rates were fantastic. However, as time went on, we began noticing significant challenges with our game economy. Balancing an economy is a delicate process; everything needs to stay in harmony, or the system starts to crack. Unfortunately, QI disrupted that balance in ways we hadn’t anticipated, so we had to make adjustments—not only to QI itself but also to how it interacts with other features.

The situation escalated quickly, and we had to act fast to prevent long-term damage. An unbalanced economy can lead to players actively leaving the game, and that’s the last thing we want for the health of the game. These kinds of issues often take time to become apparent, which is why the changes are happening now.

From the start, we always intended QI to be a dynamic feature with evolving rules, keeping it engaging over time. However, the recent balancing changes have highlights that the settlement aspect feels more like a chore—something we’re not happy with either. We’re analyzing the current Championship, how QI fits into the broader game, and what significant adjustments we can implement two Championships from now.

Our goal is to ensure fair participation and progression, though naturally, larger guilds will always have some advantages in guild-based features. This encourages collaboration and growth within guilds. Features like QI are also designed to be challenging; we want them to take time and effort to complete. Event boosts for QI are intended to add depth and strategy, allowing for longer-term engagement across the board—not just with QI but with all our features.

Moving beyond QI, here’s what’s in the works:

• GEX Trials: We’re adding a new layer of difficulty to Guild Expeditions. Each trial will feature randomized boost requirements (attack or defense) and build on the existing five difficulties. As an early warning, there will be more trials than can be completed right away, giving you all long-term goals to work toward.

• Guild Conquest: Currently in early design, this feature will be the true successor to GvG. It will introduce a new city dedicated to Guild Conquests, with rewards not revolving around guild prestige but rather something extraordinarily rare—blueprints for a powerful new feature. Stay tuned!

• Early Game Rework: We’re revamping the tutorial to align better with current industry standards. This rework will extend into the early game, ensuring the entire player journey feels cohesive, from first exposure to the deeper gameplay. While this won’t impact most of you, I wanted to share what’s happening behind the scenes.

• New Event Mechanic: For 2025, we’re prototyping three new event mechanics and will choose the one with the most promise. Expect something fresh and exciting in next year’s events!

• Historical Allies Expansion: We’re expanding the Historical Allies system to allow for leveling up allies. I won’t spoil the details—an announcement is coming very soon.

We’re also going to tackle some pressing issues. The most immediate focus is on Great Buildings. Starting in January or February, we’ll explore ways to make them more relevant in the game again.

Finally, I’ve restructured our development team into four specialized “feature teams” to focus our efforts:

• Orcaholics (New Content): Deliver high-quality content that deepens strategy and keeps players engaged.
• Raccoons (LiveOps): Drive player engagement through exceptional LiveOps (Sales and Events).
• Alpacalypse (Player Experience): Refine the player experience by iterating on features and improving usability, addressing pain points for a smoother journey.
• Growzilla (Growth): Increase daily active users by refining the onboarding and early game experience, ensuring a seamless journey from first impression to core gameplay.

As 2025 comes, I'll start introducing more details on how we work and function as a team, to give your insight into what we're doing.
In my first update of 2025, I’ll share more details on our priorities and plans for the year.

Thank you for your ongoing support, feedback, and passion—it means the world to us. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, happy gaming!
Matt

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