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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

And here's the funny part: I don't think there's even an advertising campaign running for Gambo on mobile right now. The only way I tried to bring Steam players over was literally just a popup in Gambo's Steam main menu telling them that the game was also available on mobile!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Then there's Google Play Pass, which completely surprised me. I had more than 10,000 mobile players on the 1st week, and peaked on around 50k PP User ! (ignore the drop to 0, that's a chart fluke)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Total User Acquisition (Play Pass Users + People who bought the game) has peaked a bit later in September at over 6k/Day

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

On the beginning of September we've had a huge surge in new players, up to 4k per day (User Acquisition)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Here are the result of this discount: 🇫🇷 #1 paid app in France (cocorico!) 🇺🇸 #3 paid app in the US WHAT THE FUCK 😭😭😭 I still genuinely can't believe this happened. It really showed me how powerful a store promotion can be.

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Let's start with the obvious one: 🖥️ ~190k on Steam 🤖 ~125k on Android 🍎 ~75k on iOS That's roughly 390,000 units across the three platforms! Seeing mobile reach roughly the same order of magnitude as Steam is honestly something I never expected when I released Gambo!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I thought Gambo was a Steam game... Turns out, I was accidentally making a mobile game too! Launching on Steam, iOS and Android has completely changed the way I think about releasing games. So here are some numbers, some surprises, and a few things I learned along the way!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Gambo is currently the #3 paid app on the US Google Play Store!! I’m so happy right now, thank you so much everyone!! (Oh, and it is 50% off too 👀)

A screenshot of the Google Play Top Paid Game Chart in the US.
Gambonanza is highlighted as it has reached the #3rd place, wahou!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Anyway, that's what I found! I'm still not sure what all these numbers really mean, but I found them interesting enough to share 👀 If you're a fellow dev with similar data, I'd love to compare! 10/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Ofc it doesn't mean much without context! A 13% refund rate might be perfectly fine for a roguelike and worrying for a 10-minute arcade game. Genre, price, audience, launch conditions... everything matters! So please don't use my numbers as a benchmark for your own game! 9/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The difference between average (4h10) and median (1h54) is also pretty funny. It basically tells me that there's a smaller group of players putting a LOT of time into Gambo. Probably the 10k+ discord community tbh, do not hesitate to join btw! 8/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

~10 minutes is also the duration of the tutorial, so maybe I should investigate more on this one? 🔑DCMK?-6Z338-JKY76🔑 (? => first letter of the 8/10 tweet) 7/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

And there's another number I really like: 95% of players played for at least 10 minutes. Which means that only ~5% of players seemingly launched Gambo and immediately went: "Nope. What the hell is this." Honestly, I think I'll take it. 6/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I don't know if that's actually "good" by industry standards, and I don't want to pretend it is. But for a silly little roguelike chess game that people can refund after 2 h seeing that almost 7/10 played for more than an hour makes me pretty happy. ❤️ 5/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Now this one surprised me. Median playtime: 1h54 Out of 184,722 players measured by Steam: • 68% played for 1h+ • 48% played for 2h+ • 22% for 5h+ • 8% for 10h+ • 2% for 20h+ And the average is 4h10. IDK what to do with this last info, but here it is! 4/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Gambo's lifetime wishlist conversion rate: 14.8% Steam says the average for other Game applications is around 15.3% after their first year of wishlisting. So despite all the weirdness of Gambo, apparently my wishlist conversion is... pretty normal (yaaaay!) 3/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Let's start with the scary one: Refund rate:13% A rough rule of thumb I've heard is: 🟢 <10% = very good 🟡 10–15% = nothing to worry about 🔴 >15% = worth investigating Obviously, this varies A LOT depending on the game. (I would love to have your pov on this one tbh) 2/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Gambonanza reached 300,000 sales in 3 months and I decided to dig into some of Steam's deeper stats for those who are interested! - Refund rate - Playtime - etc... I've received quite a few questions about my data, so let's go! 1/10

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I think it's easy to look at an event like Gamescom and think: I'm going there → more people will see my game → more people will buy it. 6/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Yes… but probably not for the reason you think! During the whole event, Gambonanza was 35% off! (It was also part of the official Gamescom event on Steam, so that should definitely be taken into account too!) 5/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

So, more wishlist converted and more sales! Is that the proof of the magnificent ✨GAMESCOM EFFECT✨? 4/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

❤️ The wishlists Last week: -784 wishlists This week: -1,801 wishlists Which might look terrible at first... But there's an important detail: most of those wishlists were converted into sales. And that's actually a good sign! 3/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

📈 The sales Last week: 1,905 copies sold This week: 3,747 copies sold That's almost 2x more sales in one week! 2/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Did Gamescom actually boost my game's sales? 👀 Gambonanza is already 4 months old, so I was curious to see what would happen after spending a week at one of the biggest game events in the world! 1/9

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

📬 Tom the Postgirl by bsky.app/profile/oops... Play as a postgirl delivering mail and uncovering the DEEPEST secrets of the people you're delivering to. It's funny, creepy, and has this amazing stalker vibe. I LOVED IT! DO YOU HEAR ME?? (Demo on steam!)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

💈The Midnight Barber by bsky.app/profile/omae... A rhythm + investigation game with an INCREDIBLE vibe! I'm not usually into narrative investigation games, but this one caught me off guard and I really enjoyed my time with it! Plus, the devs are adorable! ❤️ (demo available on steam!)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

🎨 Jordi & Oslo: The Lost Tail by bsky.app/profile/jord... A BEAUTIFUL hand-painted watercolor point'n'click adventure! Made by an amazing dev handling both the art, animation and code, alongside a composer and a sound designer. They were all lovely and incredibly talented!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

🥊 Knuckle Paradise by bsky.app/profile/flyi... An ultra-juicy beat 'em up where you extend your combos with a chicken! Made by the creator of ScourgeBringer, this one definitely has the juice too! It's SO satisfying !!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

🐔 Matelotes by bsky.app/profile/lapo... Build a somehow functional crew and take to the sea! SUPER funny and charming, I loved it so much! Can't wait to play the full game! (demo available on steam btw)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I had an absolute BLAST at Gamescom! Here are 5 games I played that made me go "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY WISHLIST"! Hopefully, you'll find your next wishlist game here too! 👇👇👇

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Gambo has a modding community now and it's honestly WILD and they're SUPER active! They've even made a CO-OP mode! I love seeing people take my silly little game and turn it into something completely their own!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

😱Gambo Goes Gamescom😱 It's my first time doing an event this big, and honestly... I'm a little intimidated! If you're there, come say hi and play Gambo! I'd love to meet some of you and watch you break my game in person!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Gambo just finished its first week on Google Play Pass and I can't be happier! - 10,000+ new Play Pass players! - 4.85/5★ (+0.01), which honestly makes me VERY happy! Thanks a ton for playing my silly game ❤️

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Gambonanza 1.4.0 is OUT (yaaaaay!) - Better AI Mode - Graveyard system to recover lost pieces - And a LOOOOT more! I listened to your feedback while keeping the little weird soul that makes Gambo what it is ❤️ I really hope you'll enjoy it!

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

If you're still reading this thanks a lot, here is a small gift 🗝 1- "?" => 6th letter of @beleefstudios.bsky.social 's game 2- "?" => 1st letter of @bastinusrex.bsky.social 3- "?" => the 1st letter of @docgeraud.bsky.social's name Those are 3 talented devs, do not hesitate to follow them! 11/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Regarding the 💰 This is before Steam's cut, publisher recoup, and french taxes. After everything is paid, I'll end up with around $400,000. I’m very aware of how huge this is. This is life-changing for me! 8/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

One thing I've learned since release: Not every update creates a big sales spike, and that's totally okay! For me, updates are about listening to players feedback, fixing things, and making Gambo the best version it can be! 3 major updates already shipped, 1.4.0 coming soon 👀 7/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Gambonanza launched with ~200,000 WL Three months later... it still has 333,874 outstanding wishlists! I honestly thought launch would "consume" most of the wishlists. Turns out... there are still 300k people out there waiting for the right moment to discover Gambo❤️ 6/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Here's the sales breakdown by country for those interested (Steam only): The game has been translated into 11 languages: - English - French - Spanish - German - Brazilian Portuguese - Polish - Czech - Russian - Korean - Japanese - Simplified Chinese 5/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Here are the sales per day. As you can expect, the majority of the sales were made during the first two weeks. But don't be fooled by the flat line at the end, Gambo is still selling between 100 and 500 units a day on Steam! Once again, tysm for all of this! ❤️ 4/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

67,600 Units on Android 🤖 69,790 Units on iOS 🍏 So a total of 137,390 Units on mobile! (I don't have that much details as I do not handle nor have access to the day to day sales report, sorry.) The port has been made by ATEO, they are the best! 2/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Gambo has reached 300,000 copies sold across Steam and mobile in 3 months❤️ This is completely surreal, I have no words, thank you all so much! (👇more data in thread below👇) 1/11

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Gambonanza 1.3.0 is OUT! ♟️🔥 This update is all about creativity, experimentation, and accessibility, and I had a blast making it! ✨ 2 new Gambits (including 1 from the community!) 🎓 Tutorial revamp ⚖️ Tons of balance changes 🐛 LOTS of bug fixes Go break the game 😄

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

If you’ve read all of this, thank you. This whole journey still feels a bit unreal to me. I started Gambonanza as a small project, and it somehow turned into something I never could have imagined. 14/15

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

More data here: Gambo sold: - 20k copies on Steam in the first 24h (~10% of WL) - 35k in 48h - 50k in 4 days - 70k in 5 days - 90k in 7 days - 100k in 8 days - 130k in 14 days (I don’t have precise data for mobile, but I only know it reached ~70k sales in 2 weeks)

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

One thing that surprised me a lot: the game kept growing AFTER release. Gambonanza launched with ~200k wishlists and is now above 300k+ WL only 3 weeks later. A lot of the growth came from: - streamers - word of mouth - people sharing weird/funny moments from the game 8/15

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I also got extremely lucky with the people around the project. I’ve been working with Stray Fawn since May 2025, and they helped the game a lot! Then Sidekick joined at the end of January 2026 and brought a huge amount of visibility! They both are the best! 6/15

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

During the last Steam Next Fest (February), Gambonanza started with 100k WL and ended with 138k WL (+38% in 7 days). 5/15

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

One thing I learned: Steam events + playtests are INSANELY powerful. I joined a Steam event with a very early buggy playtest build and was terrified of player feedback 😭 That playtest combined with the Tacticon event alone brought ~6k WL in one week. 4/15

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Blukulélé @blukulelestudio.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

The wishlist growth honestly surprised me from the start. My previous game released with ~2k WL, and the one before that with only 115 WL. Gambonanza did: - 3.5k WL in 5 days - 6k WL in 10 days - 10k WL in 3 weeks - 60k WL in 1 year - 200k WL in 1.5 years 3/15

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