While preparing for the upcoming LiveOps deconstruct of June’s Journey, we encountered a rather peculiar flaw in the game’s in-game shop design. Intrigued by our discovery, we felt compelled to share it with you in this quick blog post.
About the game
June’s Journey – a remarkable hidden object game developed by Wooga and released in 2017. The game offers a quality gaming experience that captivates players with its stunning visuals, immersive gameplay, and storyline – among the best examples in the puzzle genre. Players embark on a thrilling journey alongside June Parker, unraveling mysteries in beautifully designed puzzle locations.
In May 2023, as I’m writing this article, the game is still the #1 top-grossing game in the HOG subgenre (6 years after its official release!)
June’s Journey in-game shop analysis
While Wooga is known for its greatness, even the best can make mistakes. During my recent exploration of the game’s shop, my passion for math led me to uncover a flaw in their offerings. Perhaps it went unnoticed until now unless it was intentional for some mysterious motives. 😈
Analyzing the tiers, I couldn’t help but notice a peculiar pattern: the discounts seemed disproportionate to the price. As a rule of thumb, higher-priced tiers should offer greater discounts, but this principle appeared overlooked in June’s Journey.
Although I don’t have access to their analytics, it’s highly likely that Tier 2, Tier 4, and Tier 5 have performed poorly due to their questionable value. Take a look at the table comparing each tier with the cheapest option. Tier 2, for example, is three times more expensive but offers no bonus at all. Meanwhile, Tier 4 provides a worse bonus compared to the previous Tier 3, and Tier 5 shares the same bonus as Tier 3.
| Gold | Price | Bonus Gold | Bonus |
| 300 | €1,99 | 0 | 0,00% |
| 900 | €5,99 | 0 | 0,00% |
| 2000 | €9,99 | 500 | 33,33% |
| 4500 | €22,99 | 1050 | 30,43% |
| 12000 | €59,99 | 3000 | 33,33% |
| 25000 | €99,99 | 10000 | 66,67% |
To rectify these discrepancies, I propose the following adjustments to Wooga’s offering:
- Tier 2 reward: 900 ► 1100
- Tier 4 reward: 4500 ► 5000
- Tier 5 reward: 12000 ► 14000
Implementing these changes will make the offers more compelling as the bonuses consistently grow with each tier. Take a moment to observe how the bonus values have transformed, providing more value to your players.
| Gold | Price | Bonus Gold | Bonus |
| 300 | €1,99 | 0 | 0,00% |
| 1100 | €5,99 | 200 | 22,22% |
| 2000 | €9,99 | 500 | 33,33% |
| 5000 | €22,99 | 1550 | 44,93% |
| 14000 | €59,99 | 5000 | 55,56% |
| 25000 | €99,99 | 10000 | 66,67% |
Interestingly, a similar situation arises with Diamonds in June’s Journey, where 1 Diamond equals 10 Gold. Therefore, my advice for the Diamonds shop aligns closely with the following:
- Tier 2 reward: 90 ► 110
- Tier 4 reward: 450 ► 500
- Tier 5 reward: 1200 ► 1400
Is the problem only in Europe?
Since I live in Europe, I have noticed this problem in EUROs, but we decided to make double-check with other currencies. If you open the USA version of their shop, you’ll see no such problem.
All three problematic tiers: 2,4, and 5, have lower prices. As expected, you can ensure the bonus is growing with each new tier:
| Diamonds | Price | Bonus Diamonds | Bonus |
| 30 | $1,99 | 0 | 0,00% |
| 90 | $4,99 | 150 | 20,00% |
| 200 | $9,99 | 500 | 33,33% |
| 450 | $19,99 | 1500 | 50,00% |
| 1200 | $49,99 | 4500 | 60,00% |
| 2500 | $99,99 | 10000 | 66,67% |
That would make sense to adjust pricing in Europe to the USA pricing, pretending that $1=€1, instead of changing the content of the offerings.
- Tier 2 price: €5,99 ► €4,99
- Tier 4 price: €22,99 ► €19,99
- Tier 5 price: €59,99 ► €49,99
What’s next?
Stay tuned for our upcoming full deconstruct of June’s Journey, where we’ll delve deeper into the details of its LiveOps strategy!