Aethir, a provider of decentralized cloud infrastructure, has demonstrated improved user acquisition and revenue performance for the mobile trading card game Doctor Who: Worlds Apart. Through a partnership with SuperScale, a user acquisition and analytics platform, Aethir delivered its Instant Play streaming solution to allow players to engage with the game before downloading. This case study, conducted by SuperScale, focused on assessing how cloud-based streamed game demos can affect early-stage user behavior and long-term monetization.
Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions
Aethir Sees 201% Increase
The mobile gaming market is highly competitive, with acquisition costs continuing to rise and early retention rates remaining a challenge for many developers. Aethir's Instant Play technology addresses this by eliminating the friction of game installation.
Players who see an ad for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart can jump straight into a browser-based session hosted on Aethir's cloud platform. After trying the gameplay, they're sent to the Google Play Store to download the full version if they want to continue. This approach creates a seamless entry point that leads to more informed downloads and reduces wasted ad spend.
Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions
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Doctor Who: Worlds Apart Metrics
The SuperScale case study tracked user behavior and revenue outcomes for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart using Aethir's Instant Play system. The experiment was designed to work across different traffic sources and genre types, testing whether streamed gameplay before installation could move key metrics. The game saw a 201 percent increase in install conversion rate when powered by Aethir's streaming.
Average revenue per user climbed by 61 percent, while in-app purchase conversion rates rose by 18 percent. Day 7 retention hit 82 percent, and average daily playtime increased by 22 percent. These numbers suggest that offering a no-download gameplay session attracts more users and improves the quality and engagement of those users over time.
Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions
Cross-Game Validation of Streaming Benefits
These results line up with a previous case study on another mobile game, Tiny Tower, which used the same Aethir technology. In that case, install conversion rates rose by approximately 45 percent, and average revenue per user nearly doubled. The consistency across two different game genres strengthens the case that Instant Play streaming can reliably improve both user acquisition and monetization, regardless of the game type or audience segment.
Leveraging Decentralized Cloud Infrastructure
Aethir's cloud infrastructure runs on a globally distributed network of more than 428,000 GPU containers. These computing resources come from underutilized GPUs across enterprises, data centers, and other sources. By providing scalable computing power on a fractional basis, Aethir supports demanding cloud gaming workloads and enables services like Instant Play at a global scale. This decentralized model improves efficiency and allows gaming studios to adopt new user acquisition strategies without building expensive proprietary infrastructure.
Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions
Industry Perspectives on UA Innovation
Paul Thind, Chief Revenue Officer at Aethir, stated that studios face mounting pressure to grow their player base while keeping costs under control. He noted that Aethir's Instant Play model reduces friction in the acquisition journey and improves user quality by letting players experience the game before committing to a download.
Tony Pearce, CEO of Reality+, said that early access powered by Aethir contributed to a significant lift in conversion rates and engagement for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart. Ivan Trancik, CEO of SuperScale, added that the performance metrics validate the potential of integrating cloud streaming into user acquisition strategies, especially when paired with compelling content.
Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions
A Scalable Model for Future Growth
The case study confirms that streaming gameplay before download is a workable strategy for mobile game publishers looking to improve user acquisition, retention, and revenue. By integrating Aethir's decentralized cloud computing infrastructure, gaming companies can deliver frictionless, data-driven user experiences that produce measurable business results. The consistency of results across multiple games suggests that Instant Play can be applied more broadly within the mobile gaming sector as an effective and scalable growth tool.
Final Thoughts
As acquisition costs climb and user attention becomes harder to capture, studios need to explore new strategies to stay competitive. Aethir's Instant Play solution, supported by a decentralized and scalable GPU network, offers a practical model for driving higher-quality installs and sustained user engagement. The collaboration between Aethir, Reality+, and SuperScale provides a tested example of how cloud-first experiences can benefit both users and developers in the evolving mobile gaming landscape, including hybrid titles that bridge traditional and blockchain gaming elements.
