The Third Case Study!
Volition uses Hydra to power Saints Row: The Third
Developer Volition
About the Game Saints Row: The Third is an “overthetop” open world, actionadventure game that successfully blends the mechanics of a 3rd person shooter, with the character customization & development of an RPG.
Publisher THQ Inc Launched November 2011 Platforms XBOX, PS3, PC (Steam) Challenges Engage players ingame and on the web with low barrier to entry Maintain player engagement after initial game completion Allow players to quickly share their characters and screenshots Hydra Services Profile Leaderboards UserGenerated Content Feed Services Account Login/Auth Challenges Social Notifications Results Over 10x growth in user registration and sign up Millions of player screenshots uploaded months after release
Challenges The Volition team has developed a great series that has attracted a huge following. While the gameplay is second to none, the team realized that online features and communities were key to maintaining high levels of engagement well after release. The key to engaging as many users as possible is to ensure that the, like the game, the barrier to entry was very low.
Solution & Results The Volition team used Hydra to power their content sharing and user account creation. Users were able to (from within the game), quickly create their SR.com account and upload a character or environment screenshot. After successfully creating an account in the game, a user’s web account was automatically created, allowing them to upload their characters, which could then be downloaded back ingame by other users. Hydra was also used to power the “Initiation Station”, which was a version of the game that launched a month before the game’s release. It allowed players to create and customize their characters that would be used in the full game upon its release.
The series realized over 10x growth in community participation and sign up. Months after the game’s release, users were continuously uploading and downloading millions of characters & screenshots each month.
“Volition’s relationship with Agora has been consistently collaborative and productive. They always went the extra distance for us and we considered them an extension of the development team. It’s rare but very gratifying to have a relationship like we did with Agora.” The Volition Team
Agora Games, LLC 359 Broadway Avenue Troy, NY 12180 P: 518.308.8253 F: 518.274.0518 [email protected]
About Agora Games agoragames.com Since 2005, Agora Games is a team of engineers that has been developing the Hydra platform and providing professional services to some of the biggest games in the industry. We’re have the pleasure of supporting companies such as Activision, WB Games, THQ & many more.
About Hydra hydra.agoragames.com Hydra is an online services platform that provides console, PC and mobile developers with the tools to empower their gaming communities with engaging features. Hydra currently supports online services for Android, iOS, Unity, Wii, XBOX360, PS3, Steam & Games for Windows Live
Developer Volition
About the Game Saints Row: The Third is an “overthetop” open world, actionadventure game that successfully blends the mechanics of a 3rd person shooter, with the character customization & development of an RPG.
Publisher THQ Inc Launched November 2011 Platforms XBOX, PS3, PC (Steam) Challenges Engage players ingame and on the web with low barrier to entry Maintain player engagement after initial game completion Allow players to quickly share their characters and screenshots Hydra Services Profile Leaderboards UserGenerated Content Feed Services Account Login/Auth Challenges Social Notifications Results Over 10x growth in user registration and sign up Millions of player screenshots uploaded months after release
Challenges The Volition team has developed a great series that has attracted a huge following. While the gameplay is second to none, the team realized that online features and communities were key to maintaining high levels of engagement well after release. The key to engaging as many users as possible is to ensure that the, like the game, the barrier to entry was very low.
Solution & Results The Volition team used Hydra to power their content sharing and user account creation. Users were able to (from within the game), quickly create their SR.com account and upload a character or environment screenshot. After successfully creating an account in the game, a user’s web account was automatically created, allowing them to upload their characters, which could then be downloaded back ingame by other users. Hydra was also used to power the “Initiation Station”, which was a version of the game that launched a month before the game’s release. It allowed players to create and customize their characters that would be used in the full game upon its release.
The series realized over 10x growth in community participation and sign up. Months after the game’s release, users were continuously uploading and downloading millions of characters & screenshots each month.
“Volition’s relationship with Agora has been consistently collaborative and productive. They always went the extra distance for us and we considered them an extension of the development team. It’s rare but very gratifying to have a relationship like we did with Agora.” The Volition Team
Agora Games, LLC 359 Broadway Avenue Troy, NY 12180 P: 518.308.8253 F: 518.274.0518 [email protected]
About Agora Games agoragames.com Since 2005, Agora Games is a team of engineers that has been developing the Hydra platform and providing professional services to some of the biggest games in the industry. We’re have the pleasure of supporting companies such as Activision, WB Games, THQ & many more.
About Hydra hydra.agoragames.com Hydra is an online services platform that provides console, PC and mobile developers with the tools to empower their gaming communities with engaging features. Hydra currently supports online services for Android, iOS, Unity, Wii, XBOX360, PS3, Steam & Games for Windows Live
