What if Royal Match and EverMerge had a baby… and it made $250K/day?
That’s Matching Story, the surprise hit that blended match-3, merge, and classic narrative-driven creatives into one of the most polished casual games of 2025.
Today, we dissect how Matching Story, which soft-launched in 2021, took its time, perfected its systems, and is now out-earning most casual titles on the charts.
🔍 What’s inside:
How Matching Story blends match-3 + merge mechanics to create deeper monetization
Why it took 2 years of soft launch to get right
The role of event meta, merge economy, and story triggers (yes, freezing families are back)
The creative strategy: Product-led UA at its finest
Key metrics:
🧮 $250K/day revenue
📲 7M+ downloads
🇺🇸 50% of revenue from the US
📈 Day 1 retention: 41%, Day 30: 15%
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This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric
Youtube: https://youtu.be/Avb2F9MXY9A
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Public Service Announcement
05:52 Matching Story: A Game's Journey
08:48 Gameplay Mechanics and Features
11:52 Monetization Strategies and Player Engagement
14:54 Market Impact and Competitor Analysis
17:51 Visual Appeal and Game Iteration
20:44 Conclusion and Future Prospects
25:04 Visual Progression and User Engagement
26:37 Monetization Strategies and Ad Revenue
28:50 Retention Metrics and User Acquisition
31:23 Game Design Innovations and User Experience
34:14 Product-Led User Acquisition Strategies
37:43 Historical Context and Market Trends
42:42 The Emotional Roller Coaster of Gaming
44:54 Trends in Casual Gaming: Freezing Families and More
46:58 Reviving Old Concepts in Game Marketing
48:47 The Importance of Mastering Game Creatives
51:52 The Evolution of Game Creatives and AI Influence
53:55 The Cutthroat Nature of Game Development
56:45 Analyzing Game Performance and Market Trends
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Matej Lancaric
User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
https://lancaric.me
Felix Braberg
Ad monetization consultant
https://www.felixbraberg.com
Jakub Remiar
Game design consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
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Takeaways
Combine merge and match-3 for exponential monetization potential
Use merge to create downtime gameplay when match-3 lives run out
Product-led UA is real: build the ad inside the game
Leverage classic triggers like “fix the house,” “save the family,” “choose the makeover”
Spend 2 years if that’s what it takes to get it right
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Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me
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