INTERVIEW – From Survival Struggles to Idle Dominance: How Royal Ark and GDEV Built a $3m Month Mobile Hit

Story Highlights

Andrey Garkunov shares Royal Ark’s vision for growth, hybrid games, AI adoption, and future plans in mobile gaming.
Royal Ark reflects on its survival game journey, starting with Dawn of Zombies and learning from early challenges.
The studio discusses its partnership with GDEV and the creation of high-quality idle game experiences.

Royal Ark, the creators of popular mobile games like Dawn of Zombies and Zombie Miner, has become well-known for making engaging survival and mid-core games. They’re recognized for creative gameplay and a commitment to high quality, and they’ve partnered with GDEV to improve their games and reach a wider audience.

I recently had the chance to chat with Andrey Garkunov, one of the founders of Royal Ark. We talked all about how the studio got started, the tough stuff they went through, how working with GDEV helped them, and what they’re hoping to achieve in the mobile gaming world. It was really interesting to hear about their journey and how they’ve grown!

Delving into Royal Ark, the studio behind Dawn of Zombies

Royal Ark established itself as a studio in 2018 with the success of its initial game, Dawn of Zombies. Though the game was independently developed and targeted a specific audience, it gained recognition and paved the way for the studio’s first significant partnership with GDEV, as Andrey explained. He considers 2018 the year Royal Ark was truly founded.

He explained that the team lacked experience at the time. While some members were industry professionals, for many of the developers working on Dawn of Zombies, it was their very first game project – and a challenging survival game at that.

Developing survival games is incredibly challenging, requiring expertise in programming, design, art, and technology. However, Andrey notes they’re surprisingly good for testing new ideas. He explains that these games include a lot of different features for players to experiment with, and players who enjoy them are generally understanding of any flaws in the design.

He praised Leonid Sirotin, the company’s founder, for his leadership on the project. “His dedication was more important than our team’s inexperience,” he explained. “We put a lot of effort into it, maybe even too much at times. We wanted to capture the atmosphere of ‘Stalker’ on mobile, and we succeeded.” Dawn of Zombies eventually became one of the top three games in its category worldwide.

Andrey explained that his team was the first to truly succeed in the genre, introducing innovative ideas and unique gameplay. They pioneered the integration of battle mechanics into survival games, which likely caught the attention of GDEV, the creators of Hero Wars, and ultimately led to a collaboration.

Talking GDEV partnership, rebuilding the studio, and rethinking strategy

In January 2022, just before the outbreak of a significant international conflict, we finalized a deal with GDEV. Andrey remembers that instead of moving forward with our plans to create a game development center in southern Russia, we had to quickly reorganize the entire company. Within a month, the team had moved to Armenia, we’d established a new office, and we realized our previous financial projections were no longer accurate.

He explained that they were facing several difficulties. Costs had gone up, and global events and problems within the industry had created a volatile market. Marketing strategies also needed to change significantly. Specifically, he pointed out that performance marketing for survival games was struggling, with few people making purchases and intense competition driving up advertising costs.

When the team faced a tough decision about their next project, Andrey explained they were at a crossroads. They considered several options for what game to create and ultimately, almost everyone agreed on a simple idle/clicker game. They then chose a successful game as a benchmark, aiming to improve upon existing ideas and create something even better. They had a good understanding of the market, their own capabilities, and what was already available, allowing them to focus on making a superior product.

He explained that he’d always been drawn to the idea of a complex, mobile game similar to Stalker, and with Dawn of Zombies, he aimed to create a relaxing experience. He wanted players to feel comfortable and avoid frustrating losses, envisioning a ‘safe space’ they could access anytime. The goal was a calming gameplay loop where players could check on their progress, help their characters, explore further, and complete events – a truly meditative experience.

Andrey recounted a heartwarming experience: he realized players were truly connecting with their in-game characters when he overheard his wife talking to them as if they were real people. She’d say things like, ‘What are my guys up to? Time to help them,’ and that’s when Andrey knew their game had really resonated with players.

Building Zombie Miner and crafting a safe space for players

Andrey said that work on Zombie Miner started with a planning session between him and Eugene, the game’s producer. It was a tough time because the team was used to getting regular feedback from players, but they hadn’t received any in six months.

He explained that they developed a system where every small improvement was handled as if it were a full product launch, but just for their internal team. They meticulously tested each update, providing detailed feedback and ensuring it was free of bugs and polished before moving forward.

Andrey explained that building a marketing strategy from the ground up was a significant hurdle. Their previous game, Dawn of Zombies, had benefited from naturally occurring player interest, but they didn’t have any established marketing infrastructure to start with this time. As he put it, “I thought developing the game would be the biggest challenge, but actually, creating a marketing plan was even more difficult.”

In a year, Andrey’s team built a promising marketing department. He acknowledges there’s still work to be done, but credits GDEV with providing valuable support and knowledge. Their main focus was building a product where the costs of acquiring a customer (X) are balanced by the revenue generated from that customer (Y), allowing for sustainable growth.

By January 2024, the team had moved past their initial, limited launch and has been experiencing continuous growth ever since. GDEV playfully remarked on their success, and Andrey agreed that such rapid growth presents unique challenges. He explained that with no past data to rely on, decisions need to be made quickly, and they’ve learned from both their successes and mistakes along the way.

Standing out in the idle game market

Andrey explained that Royal Ark always prioritized how players *felt* while playing, paying attention to even the smallest details. He stated, “We didn’t believe in postponing improvements to how the game felt; from the start, it had to be more comfortable and enjoyable to play than any other game available.”

He also pointed out their focus on LiveOps – regularly creating in-game events to keep players hooked. As a result, players spend an average of 110 minutes each day playing Zombie Miner, which is a top playtime for games of this type.

Okay, so our game has a bunch of stuff you just don’t see in other idle games. We’ve got these ‘relics’ that get better based on how everyone’s playing, which is cool. Plus, there’s a lot more than just one way to compete with other players. It’s also really social – you know you’re playing *with* people, not just *next to* them. We’ve even included a friend system and gift-giving, which is pretty rare for this type of game, honestly.

Even typical in-game events include surprising details. For example, an Easter event had players collecting rabbits from eggs in a particular order. This encourages continued engagement by giving players something extra to discover, motivating them to collect items, and ultimately keeping them playing the game longer. As one source explains, players are actively seeking out and enjoying these hidden features.

Scaling success and numbers

Andrey thought about how far his studio had come. Just a year ago, he was hoping to reach $1 million in monthly revenue. Now that they’ve done that, he’s setting even bigger goals. He explained that their ultimate aim is to become one of the leading casual game companies, which he believes requires earning around $10 million each month – though they aren’t there yet. Currently, the studio is bringing in $3.5 to $4 million per month and is working towards a steady $5 million.

He pointed out that Zombie Miner already blends two popular game types – idle gameplay and match-2 puzzles – and believes this trend of combining genres is the future of mobile gaming. He stated that we’re moving away from simple, single-genre games like pure match-3 or idle clickers, and instead seeing more combinations like match-3 with idle elements, role-playing games with idle features, and even casino-style games combined with idle mechanics.

Understanding mid-2025 game development

Andrey talked about what’s exciting and difficult in game development, pointing out that it’s becoming more challenging due to limited time and money, especially as the industry evolves. He explained that players now see games as a form of relaxation and entertainment, expecting a wide range of experiences – everything from calming ASMR to intense competition and immersive exploration – all within a single game.

He explained that this situation offers a great opportunity for developers to reach a larger stage, but it also carries the risk of failure if they misinterpret data or market trends.

Future goals for Royal Ark, AI adoption, and rapid growth

The studio ultimately aims to produce a blockbuster film, but for now, they’re concentrating on strengthening their position in the current market. Andrey pointed out that while fast growth can be tempting, it doesn’t always last, and the team regularly talks about their plans for the future.

The studio isn’t just focused on a single game; they want to continually refine existing ideas rather than trying to do too much at once. According to a spokesperson, if changes or experiments don’t improve a game, it might be time to start a new project or shift direction slightly. Although they continue to support Dawn of Zombies, their main priority is Zombie Miner, which is currently experiencing rapid growth.

Andrey explained that Royal Ark has a specific AI team focused on improving efficiency and automating processes for departments like analytics, marketing, and art. He noted that AI has enabled them to create features they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, and to complete tasks much faster, allowing them to add more to their development plans.

The studio is making full use of AI tools such as ChatGPT, MidJourney, Krea, C-Line, and Perplexity. They’ve seen significant improvements in efficiency – some tasks are 40-50% faster, art is created twice as quickly, and testing ideas now takes about half the time.

Andrey said their fast growth comes from a few key things: a product strategy focused on improving things like how many players return after 7 days and how much money they spend on day 3, close teamwork between the data analysis and product development teams, a talented marketing team, and, honestly, a bit of luck – which is important in the game development world.

Process improvement and structure with hiring and vision

A major goal is to make our predictions more accurate. We’re giving product and marketing teams access to lots of data so they can use dashboards themselves, without needing to ask analysts for help. This way, the people responsible for growth also own the results. We’ve organized the company into small, focused teams, each with clear goals, key performance indicators, and reporting structures, all built around solving specific problems.

Andrey explained that a key factor in their marketing success has been consistently hiring people who are more talented than those already on the team. He shared that Royal Ark’s goals include expanding “Zombie Miner,” continuing support for “Dawn of Zombies,” and increasing the company’s visibility – not just through data, but also through features in articles, at conferences, in the media, and in player feedback.

The team is always researching the market, brainstorming new ideas, and keeping an eye on industry trends. While some of their earlier concepts were similar to existing games, they’re dedicated to creating something unique. Staying aligned as a team and sticking to their core strategy requires continuous effort.

Andrey explained that the team’s hard work is worthwhile when it improves their games, especially their main title, and when everyone on the team is pleased with the progress. Ultimately, their goal is to create the best possible experience for players, and that drives them forward.

Collaboration Note

As a big fan of GamingonPhone, I’ve noticed they sometimes team up with game creators and publishers to bring us really interesting articles. These articles always seem to fit with the quality I expect from the site and are things we readers actually want to see. If you’re a developer or publisher and think you could create something cool for GamingonPhone, they’re happy to chat – just reach out to them!

2025-09-25 19:15