ironSource has launched the 2022 edition of Superstars, the world’s biggest hyper-casual contest.
Superstars tasks developers to create a hypercasual game. Any developers who create a hypercasual game which achieves more than 8 million downloads in the US App Store will receive a minimum of $2 million, while games that achieve 4 million downloads will receive $1 million.
“Launching a new Superstars contest is when the adrenaline kicks in,” said ironSource Supersonic general manager Nadav Ashkenazy. “With previous winners like Tall Man, Get Rich 3D! and Escalators, among many other awesome games, it’s always exciting to see what creations the talented pool of game developers will come up with. And the stakes are high this year, with special prizes if a game is based on a TikTok trend. I can’t wait to see who will be our next developer partners in creating chart- topping hits.”
Any games which are approved and launched during, or as a result of, the competition will receive a guaranteed $200 thousand.
Awards are also given based on consumer price index (CPI). Any games which achieve day 1 retention of over 30 per cent are eligible for a $25 thousand ($0.25 CPI), $15 thousand (0.30 CPI) or $5 thousand (0.40 CPI) prize.
An additional bonus is being offered for any accepted game which takes inspiration from an ongoing TikTok trend. This falls in-line with the increase in interest in gaming from a variety of other industries. By leveraging social media trends, developers can capture the attention of users who may otherwise overlook their titles.
Superstars has resulted in notable success for a variety of titles. Tall Man Run went on to become the second most downloaded hyper-casual game of Q2, 2022, while Bridge Run went on to become the most downloaded game in the genre of 2021. Other titles, such as Move Animals and Elemental Master, have also reached the charts on either the iOS or Android stores.
Applicable games must have fewer than 10 thousand downloads, and can’t have been previously tested by Supersonic. Although the top prizes only apply to games which receive a high number of downloads on iOS platforms, Android games are also eligible for the contest. Applications are being taken until October 31st.
Earlier this week, we reported that Unity have announced that their shareholders will vote on the upcoming merger with ironSource on October 7th.
