Com2uS: Creating New Rules in Game Analysis with User-Friendly Data

Com2uS, Korea's first mobile game company, is innovating its internal data culture by applying a user-friendly approach to data analysis. They are overcoming the vast and complex nature of game data to ensure all employees can easily access and utilize it. Here, we explore Com2uS's 'user-friendly' Tableau (Tableau) utilization strategy and their future plans to leverage Tableau's next-generation AI features for another leap forward.

Founded in 1998, Com2uS is a pioneer in mobile gaming and a beloved game company worldwide, known for hits like 'Summoners War' and the 'Com2uS Pro Baseball' series. The core of Com2uS's continuous success lies in data-driven decision-making, which is supported by their 'Data Strategy Room.'

The Data Strategy Room is composed of the 'Data Engineering Team' and the 'Data Strategy Planning Team.' They are responsible for the entire process, from collecting and processing vast amounts of game data to visualizing and analyzing it through Tableau dashboards, ensuring that data translates into business performance.

Game data has distinct features that set it apart from data in other industries. Eui-chan Cho, a team leader at Com2uS's Data Strategy Room, likened game data to "a giant refrigerator filled with all the ingredients," highlighting both its infinite possibilities and the challenges it presents.

1. Imaginable Volumes: Every user click, item acquisition, character growth, and in-game action is logged, resulting in tables with trillions of rows.
2. Real-Time Data Tracking: Since all activities occur on the server, every log can be tracked in real-time.
3. Multi-Dimensional Data Structure: Data includes various dimensions such as user country, device, and in-game level, enabling deep and detailed analysis (drill-down).

These characteristics offer analysts endless opportunities but also pose the challenge of potential resource waste if data is queried indiscriminately.

The Perfect Dashboard, Yet a Silent Reality

Com2uS built a variety of sophisticated Tableau dashboards based on this rich data. They created a system to monitor all necessary metrics in real-time, including daily active users (DAU), user retention, revenue status, and concurrent user tracking. For long-running games, they developed trend analysis dashboards and various dimension analysis dashboards to quickly view trends over specific periods and track user behavior across different servers and countries.

However, this seemingly perfect system had a critical flaw: users were not actively utilizing the dashboards. The vast and multi-dimensional nature of game data made the dashboards complex, and users found it difficult to navigate and set filters, leading to low dashboard usage rates.

Eui-chan Cho recalled, "It was heartbreaking to see excellent dashboards go underutilized, and even more so when users didn't know about the dashboards that could solve their problems."

Com2uS's User-Friendly Tableau Strategy: Putting Data Users First

The Com2uS data team asked a fundamental question: "Why should users come to the data? Can't the data come to the users first?"

This question led to their innovative 'user-friendly Tableau' strategy, which goes beyond simply creating good dashboards to creating an environment where users naturally encounter data.

• Proactive Training, 'Welcome to Tableau': Regular internal training sessions were conducted to guide users on the structure and usage of dashboards, as well as essential information like data update times. They provided specific guidance on which dashboards to use for different analysis purposes, such as 'monthly revenue tracking,' to increase practical usage.
• Delivered Dashboards, 'BI Notification Bot': Instead of waiting for users to find the dashboards, they used Tableau API to send key dashboard updates regularly via internal messengers. This helped users naturally engage with data daily and quickly identify any anomalies.
• Personalized Experience, 'Custom Views' and 'Subscriptions': Recognizing that different game and country managers focus on different data, they allowed users to save their preferred filter settings as 'custom views.' They also sent 'subscription emails' based on these custom views, ensuring users received the most relevant information daily without additional clicks.

The Impact of Innovation: Data-Driven Business Results

Com2uS's 'user-friendly Tableau' strategy has yielded remarkable results. The number of core dashboards with over 10 daily views increased by 65%. However, the true success lies in the actual business impact.

Data Insights Driving Revenue Growth

Com2uS uses dashboards to track revenue in real-time, not just in terms of the amount earned in won or dollars, but also by monitoring various metrics such as the number of paying users (PU) and average revenue per paying user (ARPPU). More importantly, they directly apply these analysis results to their business model (BM) product planning.

For example, if a dashboard reveals that revenue is decreasing for users between levels 15 and 20, they analyze in detail what items these users need and what difficulties they face during their growth. Based on this analysis, they plan and implement customized item packages, directly contributing to revenue growth.

Enhancing User Experience for Continuous Growth

Analyzing user drop-off points is crucial in games. Com2uS uses funnel analysis to identify exactly where users are leaving and quickly improves content based on these insights to prevent user churn.

Conversely, they track where users find the game engaging and enhance content to attract new users. The longevity of 'Summoners War,' which has been running for 11 years, is a testament to their continuous data-driven improvements.

Com2uS's Vision for the AI Era: Tableau Plus

Com2uS is not content with current achievements and is preparing for the next generation with Tableau Plus, leveraging AI technology. The current system requires users to request changes or new data from the Data Strategy Room and undergo training or notifications for new dashboards. Com2uS envisions a truly user-friendly system that "not only assists in analysis but also provides interpretation."

To achieve this vision, they are focusing on two key areas for AI integration:

1. Tableau Pulse for Faster Insights:
   • Real-Time Tracking: Tableau Pulse allows users to set specific metrics and track their status against targets quickly and easily.
   • AI-Driven Analysis: The 'Discover' feature, based on generative AI, automatically analyzes the reasons for data changes and supports natural language queries, addressing the need for report interpretation.
   • For instance, if the daily active users (DAU) of a specific game drop sharply, AI can provide insights like, "DAU decreased by 15% compared to yesterday, primarily due to a decline in new user acquisition."
2. Tableau Agent for Natural Language Interaction:
   • Dashboard Creation: Tableau Agent is known for creating dashboards based on natural language queries. Com2uS is also focusing on its enhanced search capabilities.
   • Immediate Visualization: If a user asks, "I want to see the status of users who have reached level 50 by month," the system immediately visualizes the relevant chart.
   • Dashboard Recommendations: If a user asks, "I want to see dashboards related to a specific topic," the system recommends relevant dashboards using the Tableau Catalog feature.

Setting New Standards in Data Culture

In response to the challenges of vast, real-time, and multi-dimensional game data, Com2uS has provided standardized dashboards and adopted a 'user-friendly Tableau' strategy. Through internal training, BI notification bots, and custom views, they have created an environment where users can easily access and utilize data. Now, they are preparing for the AI era with Tableau Pulse and Agent.

Since its inception as a mobile game pioneer in 1998, Com2uS has been leading digital innovation in the gaming industry by setting new standards in data utilization culture. Their journey to bridge the gap between data and users and ensure all employees naturally experience the power of data continues.