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Free-to-Play Game Release and Promotion

Free-to-Play Game Release and Promotion

Owned by Nutaku Staff
Last updated: Sept 28, 2020
12 min read

Overview

The Nutaku platform contains a plethora of valuable real estate that all Partners are able to take advantage of to help make each Nutaku game release a success! In order to assist your game in achieving maximum visibility, while at the same time ensuring that Nutaku is a fair and balanced promotional grounds, we are providing all Partners with some basic guidelines set in line with top industry standards.

A summary of the key points in this document can be found at the end.

If you are wondering about the specific guidelines related to creating images for your game, please refer to the Product Image Guidelines

Stakeholder Notes

Platform (Nutaku Operations Team)

Above all, the Nutaku Platform’s priority is to maintain a high quality standard, which comes with a few strict rules. Don’t fret! These rules are in place to secure the image of the Nutaku brand which will ensure your high quality adult gaming product is getting the traffic it deserves on the internet’s premier adult gaming platform. Let’s get into it!

It must be understood that the Platform maintains the right to deny or postpone game release dates and/or product featuring. Best efforts will be made to respect Partner release timelines and planned participation in promotional campaigns, however, there can be no guarantees made by the platform largely due to potential major schedule changes or quality concerns. Each release and promotional situation will be dealt with on a case by case basis, will be subject to scrutiny, and will be handled at the Platform’s behest. 

The most ideal approach for Partners working with Nutaku is to be transparent, have a clear understanding of your products timeline and milestones, and to keep open communication with Nutaku at all times leading up to release. Our Partner Operations support team does their best to be accessible at all hours so please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Partner (Game Team)

Nutaku would not be where it is today without the amazing adult game developers and publishers that have chosen to work with us in bringing the adult evolution of gaming culture to a worldwide audience. We pride ourselves on the relationships with our Partners as we continue to refine the main stage for their products, and with that comes a few nods at ensuring communication is efficient and effective. 

In order to avoid any cancelation or postponement, Partners are obligated to acknowledge communications from the Platform and communicate their expectations accordingly. Partners are expected to ensure their games maintain a respectable quality standard which includes verifying that all in-game experiences are functional, and offers to Nutaku users are legible and comprehensible. It is also required that confirmed release dates are honored after being communicated to the platform. Failing this, a product release will be subject to postponement, and featuring will be subject to cancellation. 

In the event of an emergency or grievance it must be understood that the official communication channels for the Nutaku Operations Team include SKYPE and EMAIL. If you are not part of an official contact group it is the Partners responsibility to initiate direct contact to a Nutaku representative who will ensure the appropriate channels are created and provided.

 

Promo Scenarios

New Game Release

As part of the onboarding process, all Partners are expected to provide an estimated release date for their product in the form of a Quarter (QX/2020) or Month (XX/2020). Once the product has progressed to a state where an official release date (Hard Launch) can be confirmed it is required to provide this date to Nutaku no less than 3 weeks in advance of the release. This will allow Platform time to properly prepare for the release and adjust schedules accordingly. Any changes to this date occurring after the 3 week advance notice requirement will result in a minimum of 1 week postponement of the game release period (up to 6 weeks) and cancellation of related promotions.


Once Nutaku reviews a game’s release build (for compliance and quality), Platform will provide possible game release periods for the Partners to make their preferred choice release date selection. Game Release Period availability will depend on the current Nutaku release schedule and will take into consideration that products will not be released within 4 days of another release. This restriction includes the release of Nutaku Platform Events (NPEs), wherein new games will not be scheduled for release leading up to (within 4 days of) or during NPEs. After a date has been agreed upon it is then subject to rescheduling in the event of unplanned Platform maintenance, Platform Event schedule change, Priority Release schedule change, or Platform emergency.


Once you have successfully released your game to the public, Nutaku offers an advertising gratuity which includes a “new game” feature banner, social media post(s), push notification(s), and an email newsletter (if available). Timelines for these advertisements may vary.


Process example

  1. Onboarding

    1. Partner makes first contact with Platform through BizDev. 

    2. Platform creates communication channels with Partner. 

    3. Partner provides Platform with the expected release quarter of their product (ex: Q4 2022)

  2. Release Scheduling

    1. Partner confirms with Platform that the product’s release build development will be completed by a specified date (ex: December 14 2022). This confirmation with Platform takes place at least 3 weeks prior to the specified date.

    2. Platform confirms which days around the specified game delivery date are available to schedule the product release (game release period). 

    3. Partner chooses their preferred release date.

  3. **IF there is a Release Issue

    1. One week out from the preferred release date- Partner notifies Platform that the release must be postponed 2 days to resolve in-game issues.

    2. Platform notifies Partner that this schedule change request is occuring after the 3 week confirmation window, and as such the product will now be subject to a minimum delay of 1 week, potentially up to 6 weeks depending on Platforms preference and the current platform release schedule.

    3. Featuring is no longer guaranteed during the game release period for this title and will only be fit in when there is availability. If there are additional postponements all gratuitous features will be cancelled.

  4. Product Featuring

    1. Once a product is released a homepage Feature Banner and Push Notification will be prepared. These will be live the day of or day after release.

    2. If there is availability, a Newsletter will also be prepared during this time.

    3. After a week of a product being live an assessment will be made based on QA, user feedback, and KPIs to determine if the product is eligible for a homepage skin. If eligible, the skin will be live 1-3 weeks after the product launch for a period of 48 hours.

Alternate Version Release

When a Partner decides to release an alternate version (AV) of their already released product (one of PC Browser, Mobile Browser, Android App) the restrictions of the game release period are not applied. This means that there is lenience when deciding on a release date for AVs in regards to confirming the date (game release period) and proximity of other releases. This boils down to the following:

  • AVs can only be released on days where no other release is planned. One release maximum per day (AVs and New Games).

  • AVs can be released in close proximity to other releases (AVs and New Games), however, it is recommended to plan each release during an inactive game release period.

  • AVs will not be scheduled for release during Nutaku Platform Events.

AVs are not granted a free Nutaku Homepage Skin, however, they will still receive some free platform promotions such as feature banners and push notifications. In special cases where an AV release is Nutaku Exclusive and the earnings of the original version are within the top games on the Platform, additional gratuities may be offered.

Nutaku Platform Events

Nutaku hosts bi-monthly platform events where a unique promotional page is created to showcase available in-game content relevant to the theme of the event. To participate in these promotions, Partners must submit the requested banner in the required format by the provided deadline (typically 2 weeks before the event start). This information may change with each event and can be found in an email sent to all Partners at least 1 month prior to the event start.

The banners for this event must contain information regarding promotions that can be found in said game during the entirety of the event period (or during a specific date range indicated on the supplied banner). If there is found to be false advertising on a banner or the event content is not live by the start of the platform event, the game banner will be removed from the sale and the at fault game will be banned from participating in the next Platform Event.

To give an example of what needs to be considered when creating your Nutaku Platform Event promotional banner:

  1. If the banner provided indicates that the specified game event is open from say, November 11th – 14th , then the game event should be available 0000-2400 ET on both the 11th and 14th

    1. This will help us avoid any confusion from players when they check out Nutaku on the 11th or 14th and the content is not available.

  2. A team MAY end an event inside of the promo window as long as the dates indicated on the banner are correct and adhere to the above statement.

    1. It is HIGHLY encouraged to not end an event inside the promo window (before the promo ends), but we understand there are business decisions at play here, so it is not a major issue as long as it’s clear on the banner.

 

Promo Assets

Nutaku Homepage Skins

As a gratuity to new games released on Nutaku that are confirmed to be of a high quality standard (decided on by the Platform), a Nutaku Homepage Skin will be provided for 48 hours. The potential start times for this Skin will be provided to Partners in advance to allow for a preferred choice selection. Nutaku Homepage Skins will not be provided until at least 1 week after the game release period to allow for a post launch performance and quality analysis prior to the promotional period. After a date has been agreed upon, the Skin promotion is subject to rescheduling in the event of unplanned Platform maintenance, Platform Event schedule change, Priority Release schedule change, or Platform emergency.

Free Nutaku Homepage Skins are only provided for new game releases. Releases such as alternate versions (ex. Android), that occur after the first version is released (ex. Browser), are not granted a Free Skin. 

In the event where a game would like to use this prime real estate to promote a Pre-registration campaign, large content update, or new version release- a Nutaku Homepage Skin can be purchased at a cost of $5,000 USD per day(24h). 

  • Note - Nutaku Homepage Skins will not be available during Nutaku Platform Event promotional periods.

  • Note - Nutaku reserves the right to offer free skins to Partners with Nutaku Exclusive games during inactive periods.

For information related to the creation of image Nutaku Homepage Skins, please refer to the Product Image Guidelines

Feature Banners

*Nutaku will no longer be accepting public feature banner requests for minor game updates, IAP sales, or limited time events.
If you believe your event or limited content warrants coverage in this section, please reach out to your Nutaku contact to discuss the potential of cohort featuring options.

The feature banner section on Nutaku is specifically intended for new releases, major game updates, filtered collections and sales, and platform focused initiatives.

  • If your title is releasing a major update please reach out to your account manager to discuss whether a feature banner promotion will be possible.

    • A major update can be defined as a significant permanent addition or improvement to a game that is intended to have a large impact on UX or monetization.

Banner sizes are 700x180px for desktop and 1200x500px for mobile. Feature banners will only be hosted on Nutaku for new games (up to 30 days old) and games appearing in the top 20 (gross revenue) over the previous 3 weeks.

Platform will host up to a maximum of 3 game related feature banners at a time, reserves the right to deny banners based on quality concerns, and will prioritize higher ranking games. Banners will receive a maximum of 72 hours on site with no minimum guarantee in case platform requires the real estate for an on site promotion or higher earning game.

Note* Banners are required to be in .jpg format, must not contain any genitalia, must not exceed 100kb, and must not contain any spelling errors. Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in a delay of featuring or cancellation.

For information related to the creation of Feature Banners, please refer to the Product Image Guidelines

Nutaku Event Banners and Game Profile Assets

Using the developer.nutaku platform, Partners have the ability to modify the text and images on their game profile page and to upload banners showcasing active events in their products. It is ok to modify this content as much as desired, however the following rules must be adhered to:

  • 1 event banner per product. (ie: Do not upload banners for both the Browser and Downloadable versions)

  • Event Banners have a maximum duration of 3 weeks per banner

  • No genitalia, male or female, is allowed on any assets that appear on the homepage. The only game profile images that are allowed to contain genitalia are the Skin and Screenshots

  • No offensive or non-compliant text or images can be featured in a game profile. Please check with your Nutaku contact to confirm whether your content is compliant

  • Event banners must be under 100kb

  • Banners should maintain a high quality standard. No spelling mistakes or other poor/lazy workmanship

Any violation of the above rules will result in the removal of your banner. Repeated violations will result in the revoking of access to the banner CMS tool.

 

Additional Opportunities

Game Content Release Schedule

A content release schedule should be provided to Platform for each product release. This will allow Platform to reach out to Partners with promotional availability for preplanned game content release periods and to allow Platform to collaborate with Partners on additional promotion whenever possible. Having this information readily accessible will go a long way in ensuring a product is receiving the maximum exposure that Platform can provide.

In order to get the most out of these schedules, Partners should provide Platform with art assets (characters, logos, items), as well as written details about the content release, when finalized, to ensure Platform can effectively advertise and communicate the releases to users.

Newsletters, Push Notifications, and Social Media

Newsletters and Push Notifications

Newsletters and Push Notifications will be a service available to partners based on availability and platform preference. Considering our email domain reputation, there is a hard limit to how often we will send newsletters, therefore, a Content Release Schedule would be preferred to help us plan accordingly. As with feature banners, newsletters will be reserved to new and top earning products, however, open and click through rate of the newsletter subscribed cohorts will also be considered during this process. Please reach out to your Platform contact to discuss eligibility.

Social Media

Nutaku will not accept requests from Partners for Official Nutaku Social Media posting such as featuring, reposting, or page referencing. The Nutaku Platform Social Media team operates at their sole discretion while posting content in a direction historically proven to create high user engagement. The team will only promote products, promotions, and art that is believed to resonate with the social media community. If there is interest from Platform to promote a product release or in-game content, the Social Media team will reach out accordingly. As always, a Game Content Release Schedule will allow for advanced discussion about promotions. If it can be provided, it will greatly help a product’s potential for social media visibility on official Nutaku channels and networks.

 

In Summary

New Game Release:

  • It is required to provide game release period (date) to Nutaku no less than 3 weeks in advance of the release.

  • Any changes to this date occurring after the 3 week advance notice requirement will result in postponement of the game release period (1-6 weeks) and cancellation of related promotions.

  • Products will not be released within 4 days of another release.

  • New games will not be scheduled for release leading up to (within 4 days of) or during Nutaku Platform Events.

 Alternate Version Release:

  • AVs cannot be released on the same day as another AV or New Game.

  • AVs will not be scheduled for release during Nutaku Platform Events.

  • AVs are not granted a free Nutaku Homepage Skin, however, they will still receive some free platform promotions such as feature banners and push notifications.

  • In special cases where an AV release is Nutaku Exclusive, and the earnings of the original version are within the top games on the Platform, additional gratuities (skins, newsletters etc..) may be offered.

 How to - Nutaku Homepage Skins:

  • As a gratuity to new games released on Nutaku that are confirmed to be of a high quality standard (decided on by the Platform), a Nutaku Homepage Skin will be provided for 48 hours.

  • Nutaku Homepage Skins will not be provided until at least 1 week after the game release period to allow for a post launch performance and quality analysis.

  • Free Nutaku Homepage Skins are only provided for New Game releases.

  • In the event where a game would like to use this prime real estate to promote a Pre-registration campaign, large content update, or new version release- a Nutaku Homepage Skin can be purchased at a cost of $5,000 USD per day(24h).

  • Nutaku Homepage Skins will not be available during Nutaku Platform Event promotional periods.

  • Nutaku reserves the right to offer free skins to Partners with Nutaku Exclusive games during inactive periods.


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