Just when you think arcade idle games have reached their peak, a new sensation in this genre emerges.
We’re talking about Outlets Rush, the latest arcade idle hit by Supercent. On the market since June 2023, this game has topped the charts and continued to grow in 2024.
What’s the secret behind this success?
Dive into our Outlets Rush game analysis and find out!
About Outlets Rush
Outlets Rush was developed by a Turkish studio, Core Studios, and published by Supercent, an experienced arcade idle publisher.
Supercent has already published several successful games in this genre: Pizza Ready, Coffee Break, and Burger Please — their shining star.
Downloads Rush
At the moment, Outlets Rush sits at over 20 million worldwide downloads. Most of these downloads come from India (21%) and the US (11%), according to AppMagic.
The game rose to fame at the end of 2023.
In December alone, it garnered over 18 million downloads, reaching the #1 position on the top game charts on December 9th (AppMagic). According to Supercent, after a market scale-up, this game grew even faster than Burger Please which received 5 million downloads in the first 2 weeks.
At the moment (January 18th), Outlets Rush is still the top game in the hyper & hybrid-casual game category and fifth among all free games.
Solid Revenues
Outlets Rush monetizes with in-app ads and in-app purchases so we don’t have exact info on how much it earned in its lifetime.
However, we know that its IAP revenues are more than decent.
According to AppMagic, the game earned more than $500,000 in lifetime IAP revenue, which is the same as Burger Please, which has been on the market for longer. The majority of the game’s revenues come from the US, accounting for 55% of the total revenue.
Outlets Rush Game Analysis
Judging by the numbers, this game has all it takes to replicate the success of Burger Please.
But how did the game even get to these numbers?
To answer this question, let’s dive into its gameplay, monetization, and user acquisition strategy.
Gameplay & Onboarding
Outlets Rush is an arcade idle game that simulates store management.
In the onboarding phase, the players are put in charge of a sporting goods store. To get them started, the game provides an interactive tutorial, directing players with arrows and short text lines.
In a matter of seconds, players learn how the game works, how to move, and what their main tasks are.
These tasks include building inventory, keeping the shelves full, and hiring staff. As customers come in, players need to make sure everything is operating smoothly.
Simple Mechanics
At first glance, Outlets Rush strongly resembles Burger Please. These two games rely on the same mechanics and movement controls:
- A virtual joystick for movement
- Stacking as the primary mechanic
In Outlets Rush, players spend the majority of their time collecting products, stacking them, and moving strategically from one location to another.
Outlet Theme
The main difference between Outlets Rush and Burger Please lies in their themes.
So, instead of burgers, this game revolves around clothing items.
According to Supercent, themes have the power to make or break a game. They’ve learned that themes can have a major impact on CPIs, so before choosing a theme, they conduct thorough market research.
Another strategy Supercent uses in several games is leveraging the power of brand recognition. While Burger Please is filled with McDonald’s references, Outlets Rush is filled with clothing brand references (e.g. Nike, Adidas).
By doing this, the game takes advantage of brand familiarity and creates a more relatable gameplay experience for players.
Idle Meta
When players leave Outlets Rush and return, they are welcomed by offline rewards.
They can choose between regular rewards or multiply them by watching rewarded video ads.
This rewarding comeback gives players reasons to return to the game consistently, improving the game’s stickiness and retention rates.
Progression: Upgrades, Expansion & Quests
Outlets Rush includes several progression mechanics that keep players invested in the game, so let’s go over them.
1. Upgrading
As players advance through the game, they can constantly upgrade their skills and resources. For example, they can upgrade their speed and capacity, the shop inventory, and hire more staff.
The further they progress, players gain access to new upgrades, creating an ongoing sense of growth and improvement.
2. Expansion
In the long term, players can expand their business empire.
To help players visualize this goal, the game allows them to exit their current store and take a walk around a shopping center.
The center is made up of numerous unused shopping spaces that players can unlock as they progress through the game.
The shops are quite different from one another. For example, some are pink and girly, while others look black and exclusive. It’s positive to introduce this kind of diversity because it may motivate different types of players to want to unlock them.
3. Side Quests
To keep players busy and motivated at all times, the game uses a “daily quests” feature. By interacting with this feature, players can regularly earn rewards for completing certain tasks.
Hybrid-Casual Formula
If we were to place this game in a broader category, it would be hybrid-casual games.
The game is easy to pick up and incorporates hyper-casual elements like the stacking mechanic and a simple joystick.
On the other hand, it also has a more complex side.
To add depth to the game’s simple core, the developer introduced multiple progression systems and meta elements.
All this creates a fertile ground for different monetization strategies which we’ll cover in the next section.
Outlets Rush Monetization Strategy
Like most games in its genre, Outlets Rush leverages a hybrid monetization model, combining in-game ads and in-app purchases.
In-App Ads
In Outlets Rush, you’ll find three types of ads — interstitials, rewarded video ads, and banner ads.
This is a formula that works for many games.
How does it work in Outlets Rush?
Interstitial Ads
According to its app store reviews, Outlets Rush players aren’t happy with the number of interstitial ads in the game.
And we can understand why.
The first interstitial ad appears quite early in the game, right after players complete the tutorial. After that, ads start appearing every 2 minutes, and this interval gradually decreases to only 1 minute. This is especially annoying because there are no natural gameplay breaks, so ads appear unexpectedly.
Rewarded Video Ads
When it comes to rewarded video ads, Outlets Rush uses a solid strategy based on industry best practices.
The game contains a wide range of rewarded video ads that allow players to progress without spending their resources or actual money. This includes:
- Currency rewards (money bags)
- Upgrade ads (speed, staff, capacity)
- Offline earning multiplier (idle rewards)
Most players don’t mind these ads and find them useful.
These offers can also work as a testing ground for in-app purchases. By analyzing the appeal of different placements among different player groups, the publisher can tailor IAP offers for various player groups.
Banner Ads
Banner ads are the final touch to the game’s ad strategy.
Most of the time, banners are present at the bottom of the players’ screens.
They are mostly unintrusive, but there is one unfortunate placement — when players return to the game, they immediately see a big banner. Although they can quickly close it, this can disrupt the positive comeback experience the game aims to achieve with idle rewards.
In-Game Purchases
In Outlets Rush, there are two currencies — cash (soft currency) and gems (hard currency).
While players can earn cash by playing the game, the only way to get gems is to buy them in the game’s shop.
Gems come at six different price points, ranging from $1.99 to $29.99. Players can use them for anything from upgrading speed, staff, or inventory, exchanging them for cash, to claiming daily quest rewards.
No Ads Offer — The Bestseller
The game also offers a “no ads” pack at $9.99. By purchasing this offer, players can remove forced interstitial and banner ads and get 100 gems.
This offer sells best.
Since the game serves a lot of forced ads, the developer is aware that engaged players want to get rid of them.
But, instead of a simple “no ads” option, the developer bundles it with a tempting currency offer. This leaves players with a challenging decision — either accept the bundled offer or continue enduring the disruptive ads.
This offer is probably inspired by a similar pack we’ve seen in My Perfect Hotel by SayGames, one of the biggest arcade idle games on the market.
The “no ads” pack also appears as a pop-up. This happens occasionally, and it’s strategically placed right after watching interstitial ads.
Outlets Rush: UA Strategy
To get so many downloads as Outlets Rush in such a short time, you need to have a great UA strategy.
Since Supercent is experienced with similar games, they were able to apply their previous learnings to the ad creatives for this game.
Let’s take a look at the game’s top two ad creatives on TikTok.
Ad 1.
This ad begins with an attention grabber — one of the world’s most popular sneaker models. It features an animated hand determining the price of the sneakers, and entering the store.
In the following part, the ad shows how the game works, displaying the main mechanics in a dynamic and exciting way.
However, there is one difference from the actual gameplay.
While the item logos in the game are faux and only resemble existing brands, in the ads, we can see actual brand logos like Nike, Adidas, and Footlocker.
Supercent uses the same strategy in its creatives for their other arcade idle games, and it obviously works.
Ad 2.
This ad creative is all about highlighting the game’s mechanics.
Viewers can see the character cleaning the space, stacking items, and picking up cash. The ad is enhanced with engaging sound effects, making it more appealing and giving off a satisfying ASMR vibe.
This ad also uses Supercent’s tried-and-true strategy of leveraging brand logos in ad creatives. The store in the ad features a Chanel logo, likely targeting a female audience.
Outlets Rush: Our Take
Outlets Rush proves that a publisher can turn multiple similar games into hits.
Riding on the wave of arcade idle popularity, it shows that players still enjoy addictive time management gameplay. A major factor that contributes to the game’s popularity is its theme which resonates with a broad user base.
However, the game’s monetization strategy could use some updates.
The number of interstitial ads is overwhelming, and we suggest including more accessible options for their removal.
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