Agenda

After a decade live, Clash Royale has experienced record-breaking highs and dramatic lows. In this session, Aleksandar Marković (Head of Clash Royale) and James Back (Game Design Lead) look back at the past five years with an honest focus on what the team tried – what worked, and what didn't. They'll walk through key updates, experiments, mistakes, and course corrections from 2021–2025, sharing how bets around novelty, accessibility, and streamlining shaped the game's direction, from steep declines to its strongest year yet. Aleksandar and James outline the team's three big ideas that now guide their approach, while acknowledging the challenges of evolving a long-running live game and the continual learning that comes with it.

Takeaway

Attendees leave with actionable lessons on three themes: finding the overlap between what players want and what works for the game; simplifying to make space to grow the audience; and sticking to a multi-year strategy over long iterations. They see failures and fixes across content, core systems, economy, modes, and more.

Intended Audience

Designed for teams working on core, competitive free-to-play games. It suits attendees familiar with live game systems, economies, and modes. Prior knowledge of Clash Royale is not required; the focus stays on principles drawn from content, simplification, and long-horizon platform strategy.