Since its release, one of my favorite strategy games around has been Outwitters. The fog of war, the thrill of watching your opponent step into the trap you laid three turns ago…it’s all great. Yet there’s something to be said about the frenzy of synchronous multiplayer; of jumping into the fray live and fighting it out tooth and nail. And KIXEYE certainly agrees.
Since its release, one of my favorite strategy games around has been Outwitters. The fog of war, the thrill of watching your opponent step into the trap you laid three turns ago…it’s all great. Yet there’s something to be said about the frenzy of synchronous multiplayer; of jumping into the fray live and fighting it out tooth and nail. And KIXEYE certainly agrees.
On the heels of the one year anniversary for the company’s online army sim War Commander, the Facebook developer is implementing “Live Battles” to allow players to fire back immediately when their base is attacked, and experience raid-like action during invasions. The feature has already been tested and popularly received in their title Battle Pirates, and seems to represent a growing commitment by KIXEYE to replicate a console-style experience online.
So far, all signs point to that ethic being a strong differentiator for KIXEYE and War Commander. According to statistics provided by the company, the title regularly ranks as the fastest-growing Facebook game measured by monthly active users. Users that spend an average 90 minutes per day battling their friends, leading to a twenty-times higher average revenue per player than what is seen in other social games. It seems the more you make social gaming feel like actual play, the more people like it. Who knew?
