In Identity V, multi-dimensional can be utilized to maximize the effectiveness of Echoes recharge. According to the data, during the 2023 in-game first charge double event, the players’ single recharge median increased from $60 to $128, and there was a participation rate as high as 78%, while the limited time discount package (e.g., “Anniversary 648 file with 15% extra echo”) could increase the consumption of players’ budgets by 22%. NetEase official statistics show that the success rate of recharge in the low load period of the server (e.g., 1:00-5:00 am) can reach up to 99.3%, 7.2 percentage points higher than the peak period (8:00-10:00 PM) of 92.1%, players are suggested to take advantage of identity v top up time difference to reduce the risk of transaction delay.
Third-party payment platforms like Alipay and wechat Pay shorten the echo time to account to 3 seconds by streamlining the API interface, 80% more efficient than the 15-second traditional bank gateway. Taking the “Double Eleven” activity in 2023 as an example, Alipay launched the “Game direct charging channel”, finishing more than 1.2 million “Fifth personality” orders in one day, the payment success rate reached 99.8%, and the commission fee was maintained at 4%-6%. In the meantime, some platforms adopt dynamic exchange rate compensation mechanisms, such as Singapore players using SGD top-up can lock in real-time exchange rate deviation of ±0.3%, to avoid the 5%-8% echo value loss resulting from exchange rate fluctuation.
Regional promotion strategy imposes significant impact on the efficiency of echo acquisition. In the Japanese market in 2023, the “cherry blossom season” activity launched the “recharge of 5,000 yen limited personal items” that led to the monthly echo revenue growth of 65%, and in Southeast Asia, the “ladder rebate” model (recharge of 3,000 echo back 10%, 5000 back 18%) led to an increase in the average recharge frequency of the players from 1.2 times/month to 2.5 times/month. In contrast, the Battle Pass bundle will be more suitable for European players, with 35% additional echo conversions each charge over a single charge, such as the “Season Collection Pack” that charges €20 for a €45 appearance and Echo bundle.
In terms of technique, NetEase embraces edge computing nodes to reduce the latency of servers. After the Q3 2023 upgrade, the average response time for top-up requests from players around the globe dropped from 120ms to 45ms, and packet loss rate was improved from 4.7% to 0.9%. At the same time, the AI risk control system catches abnormal accounts in real time (e.g., high-frequency small recharge), reducing the proportion of fraudulent transactions from 2.3% to 0.5% and ensuring normal players’ echo to the account accuracy as 99.95%. According to Sensor Tower’s report, such optimization has reduced the top-up complaints regarding the Fifth Personality in 2023 by 41% year-over-year, with the user retention rate as high as 33%.
Planning campaign cycles also enables players to achieve maximum echo returns. For example, in the 2024 Spring Festival version, 72% of the users who participated in the “Recharge 2000 Echo Gift Limited Gold skin” promotion chose recharging four times (500 echoes per recharge), using the daily login bonus stack to get an additional 18% echo rebate. In addition, the players bound by a monthly card (30 yuan/month) receive 30 echoes every day, with an annualized revenue of 10,950 echoes and a cost recovery rate of 365%, far above the marginal benefit of one recharge.
In all, in combination with time choice, payment technology, territorial strategy and activity cycle, players can increase the efficiency of identity v top up by 40%-60%. In the meantime, NetEase ensures the stability and fairness of the global recharge ecosystem through constant optimization of the server and risk control system, and the corresponding revenue of Echo will account for 58% of the total game revenue in 2023. The success of the refined operation strategy is verified.