2024: David (Yaoqi) Guo on Throwing Fuel on Evony's Fire

If you're a fan of mobile games, especially real-time strategy games, you've likely heard of Evony: The King's Return, released in 2016. By 2024, the game continues to attract loyal players, with over 200 million downloads. Despite the fierce competition in the mobile gaming market, Evony still generates impressive revenue. It's a game worth studying in detail.

The game's developer, Top Games Inc. (TGI), is led by David Guo, also known as Yaoqi Guo. He's a low-profile but talented leader with extensive experience in software development and project management. David is known for his strategic thinking and commitment to creating high-quality games that prioritize player experience. His leadership has driven the growth of the company and its games.

Though Evony has achieved remarkable success, the team behind it hasn't slowed down. They continue to improve the game by adding new designs, stories, and gameplay mechanics. In 2024, players can expect even more surprises.

Keeping Players Excited

At the end of 2023, TGI partnered with the Napoleon movie, attracting over a million players. The collaboration brought famous historical figures and battles into the game. In 2024, they will continue enhancing the Ideal Land feature, including raising the level cap from 5 to 7. Players can upgrade their Ideal Land to reach new power levels. The game has also introduced the Statue of Liberty as a new ornament, and the popular Notre-Dame de Paris ornament is making a limited-time return. These updates have sparked interest in the community, boosting player engagement.

David Guo is skilled at identifying and acting on new opportunities to grow the business. TGI significantly raised Evony's visibility by airing a Super Bowl ad in 2017, which attracted many new players interested in war strategy games.

Global Diversity and Inclusion

Evony: The King's Return is a unique real-time strategy war game. It is played worldwide across 150 countries and translated into more than 25 languages. Players can watch everything happening on the server in real-time. They can see battles, player movements, monsters, bosses, and events as they unfold. The game allows players to cheer on their friends and help their guilds win rewards.

The game goes beyond just entertainment. It promotes diversity and inclusivity by bringing players from all over the world together. With in-game translation tools and real-time multilingual chat options, players can communicate and cooperate regardless of their background.

The team must understand player preferences, core gameplay, and marketing efforts to improve ROI and make future decisions with confidence.

David values clarity and simplicity. He works to make complex designs easy to use and constantly reflects on his experiences to improve. He strives for excellence in everything he does.

David's approach to talent development is also impressive. TGI recruits top talent that aligns with its cultural values and trains them in an Exploration Bootcamp. This ensures that the team is not only skilled but also fits well with the company’s mission.

Since its release in 2016, Evony: The King's Return has seen steady revenue growth over its eight years of development. By 2023, the game generated over $355 million in annual revenue, showing its strong market position and long-term success.