Building a great game is hard, but driving traffic to that game is the biggest challenge developers face. With over a thousand apps and games released every month on the App Store, even the best games may not get the chance to shine without a little help. That’s why we launched Skillz Accelerate. 

What is Skillz Accelerate? 

Skillz Accelerate is a program that spotlights exciting new releases from the Skillz developer community. Applicants that qualify for the program will have their games displayed for five weeks on games.skillz.com. 

The program will drive new traffic and installs to featured games, helping them meet the requirements to unlock prized tournaments. Highly successful titles may also receive user acquisition support to further grow their audience.

How Does It Help Developers? 

Skillz Accelerate debuted earlier this year with igamebank’s® 2 Minute Football. The title was featured on the front page of games.skillz.com, which increased the game’s installs per day by 5x and drove enough daily active users to the game for the enablement of prized competitions and revenue generation from organic traffic.

As the game continued to grow, it also showed exceptional player retention, with Day 7 (D7) retention rates handily outperforming sports genre benchmarks. Skillz and igamebank® then launched a joint digital marketing user acquisition campaign.

Skillz is excited to share the success of 2 Minute Football and the Accelerate program with other independent developers. It’s an incredible opportunity for developers to grow their newly Skillz-enabled game into a highly successful title. 

How Can Developers Join Skillz Accelerate? 

Skillz Accelerate is available to Skillz games that have launched but do not yet offer prized tournaments. 

To apply to the program, developers can navigate to their game’s Overview Tab within the Skillz Developer Console and apply through the Accelerate widget.

Accelerating 2 Minute Football 

We also sat down with Bob Williams, founder of igamebank®, to get his thoughts on 2 Minute Football, game design, and his experience working with Skillz. 

Q: How did you get into game development, and what do you enjoy most about it? 

A: Although I originally began my career in multimedia, I came across some great tools to develop a few browser games. After testing the waters, I discovered that I really enjoyed making games and eventually turned game development into a full-time job. I really enjoy the challenge of starting with nothing and creating an elaborate game system from scratch – there’s nothing like it in the world! 

Q: What was the inspiration behind 2 Minute Football, and what makes it special? 

A: I’m a big sports fan, and football is one of my favorites. My goal with 2 Minute Football was to make some of the most thrilling and rewarding moments in football accessible to everyone. Although most of us may never get to throw the winning touchdown in a big game, 2 Minute Football can deliver a relatable feeling to players. 

Q: What do you like most about working with Skillz? 

A: Definitely the people. Working with Skillz is a fantastic experience – everyone involved is really interested in your success, and it’s a lot of fun to be in such a collaborative environment. 

Q: Did working with Skillz and the Accelerate program impact your game and studio? 

A: Tremendously! When you’re running a small operation like I do, there’s a lot of pieces you need to put together, especially in the mobile industry. Having a team of experts on my side saved an immense amount of time and effort, and allowed me to focus more of my time on core game design. 

Q: What are the long-term goals for your studio? 

A: My next goal is to get one of my games into the top 25 chart on the App Store. Working with Skillz has been a pleasure, and I’m planning on building my next “2 Minute Sports” game with them as well!