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. In this context, Aethir’s Instant Play technology offers a practical solution by removing the friction typically associated with game installation.

Players who encounter an advertisement for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart can click through to a browser-based game session hosted on Aethir’s cloud platform. After experiencing the gameplay, users are redirected to the Google Play Store, where they have the option to download the full version of the game. This method creates a seamless and interactive entry point, encouraging informed downloads and reducing acquisition waste.

Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions

Doctor Who: Worlds Apart Metrics

The SuperScale case study evaluated user behavior and monetization outcomes for Doctor Who: Worlds Apart using Aethir’s Instant Play approach. The experiment was designed to be traffic-source agnostic and genre-independent, focusing on whether streamed gameplay before installation could influence key metrics. The results showed that the game achieved a 201 percent increase in install conversion rate when powered by Aethir’s streaming.

Additionally, average revenue per user increased by 61 percent, while in-app purchase conversion rates rose by 18 percent. Day 7 retention remained healthy at 82 percent, and the average daily playtime increased by 22 percent. These outcomes suggest that offering a no-download gameplay session not only attracts more users but also improves the quality and engagement of those users over time.

Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions

Cross-Game Validation of Streaming Benefits

These findings are consistent with a previous case study conducted 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 of these results across two different game genres strengthens the argument that Instant Play streaming can be a reliable tool for improving both user acquisition and monetization, regardless of the game type or audience segment.

Leveraging Decentralized Cloud Infrastructure

Aethir’s cloud infrastructure is built on a globally distributed network of more than 428,000 GPU containers. These computing resources are aggregated 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 such as Instant Play at a global scale. This decentralized approach not only improves efficiency but also allows gaming studios to adopt innovative user acquisition models without building costly proprietary infrastructure.

Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions

Industry Perspectives on UA Innovation

In an interview with GamesBeat, Paul Thind, Chief Revenue Officer at Aethir, emphasized that studios are under increasing pressure to grow their player base while maintaining cost efficiency. He noted that Aethir’s Instant Play model helps reduce friction in the acquisition journey and improves user quality by giving players an opportunity to experience the game before making a download decision.

Tony Pearce, CEO of Reality+, stated 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 aligned with bold content offerings.

Aethir Sees 201% Increase in Install Conversions

A Scalable Model for Future Growth

The case study reinforces that streaming gameplay prior to download is a viable strategy for mobile game publishers looking to improve user acquisition, retention, and revenue. By integrating Aethir’s decentralized cloud computing infrastructure, gaming companies can provide frictionless, data-driven user experiences that lead to measurable business outcomes. 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 continue to rise and user attention becomes more difficult to capture, studios must explore new strategies to remain competitive. Aethir’s Instant Play solution, supported by a decentralized and scalable GPU network, presents a practical model for driving higher-quality installs and sustained user engagement. The collaboration between Aethir, Reality+, and SuperScale offers 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.