Coin Master

Last updated
Coin Master
Coin Master.png
Developer(s) Moon Active
Publisher(s) Moon Active
Platform(s) Android
iOS
iPadOS
Release2015
Genre(s) Casual mobile game
Mode(s) Single-player

Coin Master is a casual mobile game that incorporates mechanics from village building, slot machines, and social interaction. The game was developed by Tel Aviv, Israel-based company Moon Active. It could be argued whether the game falls into the social casino category or not. [1]

Contents

Coin Master has been downloaded over 300 million times worldwide. [2] It was also in the top-grossing mobile games in the UK (since February 2019) and Germany (since June 2019). [3]

Gameplay

The objective of Coin Master is to win coins based on chance to upgrade items in order to build up villages and progress through the levels. [4] Coin Master can be found under the 'Adventure Game' category in the app stores, but uses gambling mechanics.

The main focus of the game is to build and improve villages, with every village being an individual level. In order to build villages or attack the villages of other players, users must spin a slot machine to win coins. The number of daily spins are limited to five, but additional attempts and items can be purchased through in-app purchases. Some free spins are gifted by Coin Master through links on their social channels and by subscribing to their email newsletter.

Coins are acquired by spinning and winning, attacking another player's village, or raiding another player's fortune. A maximum of five shields, as well as the pet Rhino, can be used to defend villages. When a player's village is attacked, the game also allows "revenge" so a player can launch a counterattack.

The player needs to upgrade 5 items in every village in order to progress to the next level. [5]

As of June 2024, there are 570 levels in the game. Each village has its own unique theme. Coins are used to upgrade village items and when players upgrade all 5 items on the village, the game will progress to the next level with a new village. The coins earned from the slot machine increase slightly as the levels progress.

Card collecting

Another feature in the game is the 'Card Collection'. Cards can be collected and traded to complete card sets, which usually rewards the player with spins and pet experience. Chests with collectible cards inside them can be collected using coins, during raids, rewarded for reaching the next level or bought through in-app purchases. Cards differ in value and there are several rarities. There are unofficial online social groups of fans that are dedicated purely to card trading.

Pets

Foxy, Tiger, and Rhino are the three pets [6] that are designed to help players collect more coins each in their own unique way. Pets can be raised by obtaining treats for them and raising their XP (experience points) by using XP potions. Foxy gives the player extra coins for a raid up to 119% of player's raid value. Tiger gives the player extra coins for attacks. These extra coins can get up to 410% of the attack value. Rhino protects player's village from attacks. This pet protects up to 70% of the attacks on their village. Additionally, pets need to be kept awake with treats. For each treat they stay awake (usable) for 4 hours. They can stay awake for longer periods of time with multiple treats. [4]

Gifts

Players can gift each friend one Spin every 48 hours, and they can do the same for one. As long as the Spin bar is empty, they can collect up to 100 Spins every day. Gifting Spins to friends will not decrease the player's own inventory, but to collect 100 spins everyday, one needs to have 200 active friends on Facebook.

Viking Quest

The Viking Quest is a special event in the game that allows players to travel through various Viking-themed islands and complete challenges to earn rewards.

During the Viking Quest event, players must collect items such as Hammers, Shields, and Piggy Banks to progress through each island. These items can be obtained by spinning the slot machine in the game, and players must collect a certain number of each item to unlock the next island.

Each island in the Viking Quest event features a unique set of challenges that must be completed to earn rewards such as Coins, Spins, and rare game cards. Some of the challenges include defeating enemy Viking characters, raiding Viking villages, and finding hidden treasure.

Players can also earn bonus rewards by completing daily challenges during the Viking Quest event, which can include tasks such as spinning a certain number of times or raiding a certain number of villages.

VIP status

VIP is a special status that gives extra benefits to players like extra spins, coins, exclusive events, a private Facebook group, and a permanent player ID. It was rumored that VIP status is given to players who spend a specific amount of money in the game depending on the country they play from, but people have accused Moon Active of not being transparent enough with the process.

Commercial

Coin Master's main revenue comes from in-app purchases and microtransactions. The app made 59.15 million US dollars worldwide in July 2023 data. The application has now generated more than 3.5 billion US dollars in player spending over its lifetime. The US, UK, and Germany are the top spenders, contributing over 85% of its net revenue. [7]

Specific data on in-app purchase conversion rates or average spending per player is limited.

According to the website OMR, Moon Active earned US$280 million until October 2019. [8]

Investors

The company has investors from the tech industry, such as Gigi Levy-Weiss, the former CEO of the Gibraltar based online casino company 888 Holdings. [9]

Advertisements

Jennifer Lopez, [10] [11] Khloé Kardashian, Eugenio Derbez, Kris Jenner, and Scott Disick have featured in advertisements for Coin Master. [12] [13] [14] Other celebrities who have participated in advertisements for the game are Ben Higgins, Chris Harrison, [15] Rae Sremmurd, [16] Terry Crews, Emily Ratajkowski, [17] Cardi B, Joan Collins, David Schwimmer, Dieter Bohlen, the Spice Girls, Thalia and Chayanne.

Awards

Coin Master was ranked in the top 20 of the acclaimed Top 50 Developers/Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list from PocketGamer.biz, published October 1, 2019. [18] The game has also received countless mentions in industry publications regarding its continuous stance of 1st place in the weekly/monthly roundup lists of Top Grossing games on both the App Store and Google Play in 2019. [19]

Use in scamming

Coin Master has been used as part of "human verification" scams. As part of the scam, a malicious website prompts the user to "prove they are not a robot" by playing other games or installing applications, with the end goal of receiving in-game currencies.

Many websites claim to give free spins for Coin Master, but some ask users to download risky apps, putting their privacy at risk. Others promise cheap spins or coins for payment without delivering anything.

Criticism

Coin Master has been widely criticized for using designs and characters appealing to children, resembling games such as Township in order to supposedly lure them into using gambling-like elements (like a slot machine and betting) and spending real-life currency on items and mechanics within the game. In an article about the game published by Pocket Gamer.co.uk in February 2018, the website called the game a "slot machine masquerading as a game". [20]

In Germany, the game has particularly been criticized for its apparently harmful mechanics and negative effects on children. The State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (Landesmedienanstalt Nordrhein-Westfalen) warned about the game and its advertising campaign in August 2019. A group of media outlets reported on the game in the following months, including Saarländischer Rundfunk, OMR [21] and Der Spiegel. [22] The federal youth protection initiative Schau Hin! also deals with the mobile game and noted that youth protection advocates see Coin Master as a "gateway drug to gambling". [23]

The game further came into public attention in Germany after German journalist and comedian Jan Böhmermann criticized the game in his late night show on German public television channel ZDF. Böhmermann voiced his opinion that Coin Master is marketed to children and adolescents despite corresponding denials, citing among other things such as the child-friendly look of the game and advertising from popular influencers like Pietro Lombardi. [24]

In collaboration with the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia filed a lawsuit against Moon Active. The focus of the legal proceedings was to determine that the game, in its existing version, could no longer be distributed within Germany. These proceedings were formally concluded on Friday, April 3, 2020. The resolution was facilitated by the substantial cooperation of the app's operator in adhering to German youth protection standards.

The modifications implemented by Moon Active include the introduction of double age verification [25] and the restriction of minors from accessing the app. Additionally, the app now features a clear instruction on how to disable in-app purchases. Furthermore, the marketing strategy that previously employed influencers as brand ambassadors has been discontinued in Germany, underscoring that the game is not intended for children. [26]

This case is notable for being the first instance in which a German media authority took legal action against a developer located outside of Europe. [26]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gunbound</i> 2002 video game

Gunbound is a free-to-play, multiplayer, turn-based artillery game developed by South Korean developer Softnyx. It has been compared to the Worms series as it shares many common gameplay features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spil Games</span> Dutch video game developer

Spil Games is a Dutch video game developer based in Hilversum. The company publishes free-to-play games for Android and iOS devices, as well as for the Facebook Platform.

<i>We Rule</i> 2010 video game

We Rule was a free-to-play mobile game developed by Newtoy and published by ngmoco for iOS and later on Android. It was available for download on the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad on the App Store or iTunes, and attracted many users since its release in March 2010. Although a free app, customers were able to buy in-app purchases; as of April 2010, it was the highest-grossing free-to-download game for the iOS. Within weeks of release, We Rule was estimated to have been downloaded millions of times, with approximately two million user sessions per day. Its gameplay was in part inspired by the Zynga game FarmVille.

<i>Pocket Gamer</i> Website and magazine focused on video games

Pocket Gamer is a video game website and former print magazine that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. It was launched in 2005 by Steel Media Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woozworld</span> Virtual gaming community and social network service

Woozworld is a virtual gaming community and social network service founded in 2009 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Woozworld allows users to connect with each other through customizable profiles and interactive activities.

<i>Bin Weevils</i> Multiplayer online video game

Bin Weevils was a British MMORPG involving a virtual world containing a range of online games and activities.

<i>Sonic Dash</i> 2013 video game

Sonic Dash is a 2013 endless runner mobile game developed by Hardlight and published by Japanese game studio Sega. It is Hardlight's second Sonic the Hedgehog game, the first being 2012's Sonic Jump. The game was released in March 2013 for iOS, November 2013 for Android, and December 2014 for Windows Phone and Windows, along with an arcade release in November 2015 as Sonic Dash Extreme. It was initially released as a paid application, but was made free-to-play a month after its iOS release.

<i>Subway Surfers</i> 2012 video game

Subway Surfers is a 2012 endless runner mobile game which is co-developed by Kiloo and SYBO Games, private companies based in Denmark. It is available on iOS, Android, HarmonyOS, Amazon Fire Tablet, and Windows Phone platforms and uses the Unity game engine. In the game, players take the role of young graffiti artists, led by Jake who, upon being caught in the act of tagging a metro railway site, run through the railroad tracks to escape from the inspector and his dog. As they run, they grab gold coins, power-ups, and many other items while simultaneously dodging collisions with trains and other objects. They can also jump on top of the trains and surf with hoverboards to evade capture until the character crashes into an obstacle, gets caught by the inspector, or gets hit by a train, at which point the game ends. Special events, such as the Season Hunt and others, including the game's birthday events, the Super Runners Challenge and Rivals Challenge, can result in in-game rewards and characters. Also with points and keys they can buy different outfits and characters.

<i>Clash of Clans</i> 2012 mobile strategy game

Clash of Clans is a 2012 free-to-play mobile strategy video game developed and published by Supercell. The game was released for iOS platforms on 2 August 2012, and on Google Play for Android on 7 October 2013.

<i>Temple Run</i> (series) Endless runner video game series

Temple Run is a video game franchise of 3D endless running video games developed and published by Imangi Studios. The primary theme of the series is an explorer chased from a group of demon monkeys, however, the characters and theme vary between spin-offs. The game was initially released for iOS devices on August 4, 2011, and later ported to Android systems and Windows Phone 8. The series consists of eight titles and has received commercial success with multiple entries surpassing 1 million downloads.

<i>Angry Birds Epic</i> Free-to-play mobile game

Angry Birds Epic was a free-to-play role-playing video game that is the ninth installment in the Angry Birds series, developed by Chimera Entertainment and published by Rovio Entertainment. The game was announced on March 12, 2014 and features turn-based combat and a crafting system. The game was soft launched on March 17 on the Australia, New Zealand and Canada App Store, and was released worldwide on June 12, 2014.

<i>Jelly Splash</i> 2013 video game

Jelly Splash is a match-three puzzle video game released by the developer Wooga on 15 August 2013 on iPad and iPhone. It was later released on Facebook and Android, as well as the Korean social network platform KakaoTalk in November 2013.

<i>Monster Strike</i> 2013 video game

Monster Strike is a mobile Japanese role-playing physics game with elements of puzzle, strategy and cooperative multiplayer. It is developed by Mixi for iOS and Android platforms. The game was created by former Capcom game designer Yoshiki Okamoto. In Japan, its name is often shortened to MonSt. The game can be summed up as a cross between Nintendo's Pokémon and Capcom's Metal Walker; the former in that it centers around monster collecting and the latter in that battles take place using catapult mechanics.

<i>Lara Croft: Relic Run</i> 2015 video game

Lara Croft: Relic Run is a free-to-play action-adventure endless runner platforming game for mobile platforms. It was developed by Simutronics and published by Square Enix's European subsidiary in May 2015. Players take on the role of franchise protagonist Lara Croft as she searches for a lost colleague while confronting a shadowy conspiracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plarium</span> Video game software company

Plarium Global Ltd. is a video game developer, publisher and subsidiary of the Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure. It is known for creating mobile, desktop and browser games in various genres including MMO, RPG, action, strategy, and casual.

<i>EverWing</i> 2016 video game

EverWing is a game created by Game Closure and released on the Instant Games platform in Facebook Messenger in November 2016.

<i>Angry Birds Blast</i> Free-to-play tile-matching puzzle game published by Rovio Entertainment

Angry Birds Blast is a free-to-play tile-matching puzzle game, developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Rovio Entertainment in 2016 as a spin-off from the Angry Birds franchise.

<i>One Piece Bounty Rush</i> 2018 video game

One Piece Bounty Rush is a free-to-play mobile game based on the One Piece franchise, co-developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment and Sega and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is played in real-time with four player teams in battle mode, in which the team that has the most treasure at the end wins. Every battle takes place within a location from the One Piece series.

Kamibox is an independent German video game developer founded by Philipp Stollenmayer. Stollenmayer is the sole employee of the company, which creates almost exclusively mobile games. Some of Kamibox's games have received awards for their design, including an Apple Design Award. Kamibox games often have a philosophical element to them, such as see/saw and Sometimes You Die, which explore the concept of death in video games.

<i>Squad Busters</i> 2024 mobile game

Squad Busters is an online mobile action game developed and published by the Finnish video game company Supercell. The game was released globally on 29 May 2024 for Android, iOS and HarmonyOS.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2019/3/4/is-coin-master-the-new-face-of-social-casino deconstructoroffun.com. Deconstructor Of Fun. April 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Coin Master $3B Monetization Strategy Revealed! | Udonis". Udonis Mobile Marketing Agency. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  3. ↑ "Coin Master Rakes in $500 Million Globally as It Cashes in On Success in Great Britain, Germany, and the U.S." Sensortower.com.
  4. 1 2 "Gameplay – Coin Master". moonactive.zendesk.com.
  5. ↑ "How level system work in the Coin Master game? - HakTuts by FullGPL". 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  6. ↑ Erik (2019-11-08). "Pets in Coin Master - Ultimate tricks". Coin Master Strategies. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  7. ↑ "Coin Master Profit revenue, spenders, contribution data- HakTuts by FullGPL". 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  8. ↑ "Coin Master: So hat die Glücksspiel-App durch Influencer 280 Millionen Dollar umgesetzt". Daily. July 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Indizierungsverfahren zu der App "Coin Master" eingeleitet". Mimikama (in German). 16 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Guys, have you played #CoinMaster?! My competitive side really comes out when I play! It's soo much fun! 💖 I am so excited to announce my new collab with... | By Jennifer LopezFacebook . Retrieved 2024-04-10– via www.facebook.com.
  11. ↑ Ain't it funny you thought you could attack my village on Coin Master and get away with it?! 😆 Download Coin Master now for free in the App Store and... | By Jennifer LopezFacebook . Retrieved 2024-04-10– via www.facebook.com.
  12. ↑ "Khloé Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Scott Disick Go on the Attack in Coin Master Campaign". broadwayworld.com. Broadway World. January 17, 2020.
  13. ↑ Stone, Natalie (January 23, 2020). "Watch Kris Jenner Use Her Momager Negotiating Skills with Scott Disick in Funny Coin Master Ad". people.com. People.
  14. ↑ Hara, Ramon (January 20, 2020). "The Kardashians Are The Latest Celebrities to Endorse This Mobile Game". gamerant.com. Gamerant.
  15. ↑ Bhuvad, Ariba (21 January 2020). "Ben Higgins and Chris Harrison tackle mobile game "Coin Master"". acceptthisrose.com. FanSided.
  16. ↑ "Play Coin Master and trade cards with Slim Jxmmi and Swae!". YouTube: Rae Sremmurd. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  17. ↑ "Coin Master, un éxito millonario para móviles que se publicita con Emily Ratajkowski". Vandal (in European Spanish). 8 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  18. ↑ "The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2019". pocketgamer.biz. PocketGamer. October 2019.
  19. ↑ Forde, Matthew (18 February 2019). "Weekly global mobile games charts: Coin Master overtakes Candy Crush Saga in Great Britain and Ireland for top grossing". Pocketgamer.biz.
  20. ↑ https://www.pocketgamer.biz/how-does-coin-master-monetise/ pocketgamer.biz. PocketGamer. February 2018.
  21. ↑ https://omr.com/de/daily/coin-master-app-umsatz-influencer OMR (in German)
  22. ↑ https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/gaming-app-coin-master-wie-kinder-in-der-spielgeldfalle-landen-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000165335755 spiegel.de. Der Spiegel (in German)
  23. ↑ "Spiele-App "Coin Master" von Medienanstalt geprüft". schau-hin.info. (in German)
  24. ↑ "Böhmermann nimmt sich glücksspielähnliche App "Coin Master" vor - derStandard.de". Der Standard.
  25. ↑ https://www.medienanstalt-nrw.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungen-2020/2020/april/coin-master-an-deutschen-jugendschutz-angepasst.html (in German)
  26. 1 2 "Coin Master an deutschen Jugendschutz angepasst". (in German)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.