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Monument Valley made $5.8 million, over 80 percent on iOS
Monument Valley developer Ustwo earned $5,858,625 from sales for the game as of this past Monday, as highlighted in a fancy infographic breaking down the puzzle game's earnings. Of that revenue, 81.7 percent was earned on iOS, compared to 13.9 percent on Android (where it was released about a month later) and 4.3 percent on Amazon. Ustwo says Monument Valley was installed on over 10 million unique devices, though its profits come from 2,440,076 official sales. The original game took $852,000 to develop while its eight-level Forgotten Shores update cost the developer $549,000. It first arrived on iOS in April 2014 and recouped its development costed in its first week; Ustwo has now clarified that its launch day on the App Store amounted to $145,530 in revenue. [Image: Ustwo]
Monument Valley gets eight new levels on iOS today
Pretty puzzler Monument Valley received a new set of levels today called Forgotten Shores. The pack is available as a $1.99 in-app purchase for iOS, opening up eight additional levels for players to solve. The new levels slot between the game's original final two acts, operating as a "director's cut" of sorts, executive producer Dan Gray told Wired. Forgotten Shores explores a few new gameplay ideas that developer Ustwo didn't fit into the original 10 levels, resulting in more steps to complete the latest puzzles. As designer David Fernández Huerta put it, the developer is "asking the player to think ahead a bit more" in Forgotten Shores. Gray also noted that Monument Valley recently celebrated 1.4 million downloads since its April launch, a steady climb since it hit one million downloads in July. As for Android players, the Forgotten Shores update will be available "very soon," Ustwo noted on Twitter. [Image: Ustwo Games]
Threes, Device 6 take home Apple Design Awards
Apple doled out its Design Awards earlier today, giving its stylish, pearl white nod to several games. Alongside lifestyle apps like Cinemagraph Pro and Sky Guide, Apple recognized Threes, Device 6, Blek, Monument Valley and Leo's Fortune for combining design and technology in "creative, compelling, and powerful ways." Apple praised each of the games, calling Threes "intuitive, charming, broadly appealing, and bewitchingly addictive." Device 6 was labeled "mesmerizing and immersive," Blek was said to engage both left and right hemispheres of the brain, and Monument Valley was compared to experiencing a museum. Finally, Leo's Fortune was hailed as "intricate and nuanced." Works for us. We just love having good games to play. [Image:Simogo]
