What is InGyre's core competitive advantage?

InGyre argues that their advantage lies in building proprietary game and physics engines from the ground up. According to slide 5, this 'Unique Technical Platform' approach faces lower competition because there is a 'very low supply of technically innovative games due to lack of capable teams.' They believe this technical depth leads to higher organic discovery by app store editorial teams and journalists.

What games are featured in the pitch?

The deck focuses on two titles: 'Beard of Power,' a 2D endless runner with RPG elements and a custom engine (Slide 9), and 'Rising Tide,' a 3D tower defense game set on water that uses a complex physical engine to model currents (Slide 13). Both games reached the MVP stage by July 2014.

How does InGyre plan to make money?

The monetization strategy is hybrid. For 'Beard of Power,' they propose a freemium model with in-app purchases. For 'Rising Tide,' they suggest a dual approach: a paid version with full functionality and a free version with limited functionality, both supported by a two-tier currency system for in-game items (Slide 15).

What is the status of the company's fundraising?

On slide 17, InGyre states they are seeking a 'seed round for the next 12 months.' The funds are intended to finish development and bring both games to market. However, the deck does not specify the amount of capital being raised, nor does it provide a valuation or use-of-funds breakdown beyond general categories like 'PR activities' and 'Game design.'

What critical information is missing from this deck?

The most significant omission is a team slide. While slide 17 mentions a 'core development team assembled' in June 2013, it provides no names, bios, or past successes. Additionally, there are no detailed financial projections, user acquisition cost (CAC) estimates, or a specific dollar amount for the investment ask.

InGyre Pitch Deck Teardown: A Technical Bet on Proprietary

InGyre presents a seed-stage case for a mobile gaming studio that differentiates through technical innovation rather than just marketing or gameplay loops. The deck, likely from mid-2014 based on internal dates, highlights two games in development: 'Beard of Power' and 'Rising Tide.' The core thesis, stated on slide 5, is that 'Unique Technical Platforms' have a higher chance of being noticed by app store teams and journalists due to a low supply of technically innovative games. While the deck provides deep dives into game mechanics and custom engine features—such as water current modeling fo…

Key takeaways

The mobile gaming market was projected to reach $35.4Bn by 2017 with a 19.1% CAGR (Slide 3).
InGyre categorizes the market into three tiers: Safe Genre, Innovative Gameplay, and Unique Technical Platform, choosing to compete in the latter (Slide 5).
The company uses 'Smash Hit' and 'Monument Valley' as benchmarks for success in the high-technical-quality segment (Slide 7).
Beard of Power features a custom game engine with over 1,500 lines of code dedicated solely to character behavior (Slide 11).
Rising Tide utilizes a proprietary physical engine for accurate modeling of water currents, a feature claimed to be rare on mobile (Slide 13).
The monetization strategy for both games involves a mix of freemium and paid versions with in-app purchases (Slide 9).
As of July 2014, MVPs for both games were finished, with 6-9 months of development remaining (Slide 17).
The company was 100% owned by founders at the time of the deck's creation (Slide 17).

Executive Summary and Market Context

Slide 1: Title Slide

The deck opens with a minimalist yellow background featuring the company name 'InGyre' and the tagline 'Reshaping Mobile Gaming.' The contact information provided is for Alexander Dadashev. A small tornado-like icon sits next to the brand name.

Slide 3: Market Opportunity

This slide establishes the scale of the mobile gaming industry using 2014 data. It notes that revenues were expected to reach $21.7Bn in 2014, growing to $35.4Bn by 2017 at a 19.1% CAGR. The slide provides a geographical breakdown of revenue and gamer counts. Asia Pacific is identified as the largest market with $12,200MM in revenue and 740MM gamers. North America follows with $4,900MM in revenue and the highest average spend per payer at $6.21. Other regions detailed include Western Europe ($3,200MM), Eastern Europe ($630MM), Latin America ($510MM), and Middle East/Africa ($380MM).

Strategic Positioning

Slide 5: The Three-Tier Market Analysis

InGyre categorizes the mobile gaming landscape into three strategic buckets to justify their approach. Marketing for 'Safe Genre' Games is described as a crowded market where 95-99% of games fail due to high marketing costs and low margins. Innovative Gameplay (citing Angry Birds and Cut the Rope) is noted for having catchy products but being difficult to forecast. Unique Technical Platform is InGyre's chosen niche. The pros listed include a low supply of technically innovative games and high chances of being featured by app stores. The cons are the difficulty of assembling a capable technical team and high development costs.

Slide 7: Benchmarking Success

To validate the 'Technical Platform' strategy, the deck highlights four successful peers. Smash Hit (Mediocre) is cited for 23MM iOS downloads and 'complex physics.' Badland (Frogmind) is noted for its Apple Design Award and 1.8MM iPhone downloads at a $3.99 price point. Monument Valley (Ustwo) and Leo's Fortune (1337 & Senri) are also listed, emphasizing their high-quality graphics, unique mechanics, and Apple Design Awards. This slide serves to prove that premium, technically superior games can achieve significant traction without the massive marketing budgets required for 'safe' genres.

Product Deep Dives

Slide 9: Product Portfolio Overview

This slide introduces the two lead titles. Beard of Power is described as an endless 2D runner featuring a wizard hunting fireflies, built on a 'from the ground up game engine.' Rising Tide is a 3D tower defense game set in a 'Thalassic empire' under attack by golems, featuring a custom physical engine for water currents. The slide includes early screenshots of both games on mobile devices.

Slide 11: Beard of Power Technical Details

InGyre leans into the technical specifications of their first game. They highlight a game engine with 'over 1,500 program lines of code responsible for main character's behavior only.' Features include surfaces of any form, normal mapping, gloss mapping, sophisticated parallax, and a fully functional native level editor for iPhone and iPad. The emphasis here is on the flexibility and visual fidelity afforded by their custom code.

Slide 13: Rising Tide Technical Innovation

The deck argues that water-based gameplay is rare on mobile due to the computational intensity of modeling currents. InGyre claims to have solved this with an 'accurate water visualization and modeling of currents' engine. They assert that this physical engine allows for unique gameplay and 'appealing graphics' that differentiate the title from existing games in the tower defense space.

Slide 15: Rising Tide Gameplay and Monetization

This slide details the mechanics of Rising Tide, where players operate towers against enemy ships. The towers can create whirlpools and water jets to influence the motion paths of ships. The monetization plan involves two types of currency: general (earned) and rare (bought or earned in limited quantities). It also identifies Fieldrunners 2 as the closest peer, noting its 2.2MM downloads for paid versions.

History and Fundraising

Slide 17: Timeline and The Ask

The final slide provides a historical timeline starting in Winter 2013 with the 'General idea for InGyre.' It tracks the assembly of the core team in June 2013 and the completion of MVPs for both games by July 2014. The investment request is for a 'seed round for the next 12 months' to finish development. Key expenditure items include game design, PR, and attending conferences to build relationships with app store teams. The slide notes that the company is currently 100% owned by the founders.

What InGyre Does Well

The deck excels at defining a clear 'Why Us' through the lens of technical differentiation. By categorizing the market into three distinct tiers on slide 5, the founders provide a logical framework for why they aren't building just another clone of a popular genre. They successfully link technical complexity (custom engines) to a business outcome (organic discovery by app store editors), which is a compelling argument for investors wary of high customer acquisition costs in gaming.

Furthermore, the use of specific peer benchmarks on slide 7 and slide 15 provides a realistic sense of the 'ceiling' for this type of studio. By citing downloads and price points for games like Badland and Monument Valley, they ground their ambitions in historical data rather than vague projections.

What Is Missing from the InGyre Deck

The most glaring omission is the Team Slide . In a pitch that rests entirely on the premise of having a 'capable technical team' (as mentioned in the cons of slide 5), the absence of founder bios or engineering credentials is a significant hurdle. Investors in the gaming space typically bet on the 'pedigree' of the developers—where they worked previously and what titles they have shipped.

Additionally, the Financial Ask is incomplete. While slide 17 mentions a 'seed round,' it does not specify the amount of capital required. Without a dollar figure and a corresponding budget or 'use of funds' breakdown, it is difficult for an investor to assess the runway or the valuation expectations. There is also no mention of Unit Economics or projected Lifetime Value (LTV) vs. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), which, even for a premium/freemium hybrid, are standard metrics for the sector.

Founder Takeaways: What to Copy

Strategic Categorization: Use a slide like slide 5 to show you understand the different 'ways to win' in your market and why your specific path is the most defensible. · Technical Proof Points: If you are building proprietary tech, be specific. Mentioning '1,500 lines of code for character behavior' (Slide 11) or 'modeling of currents' (Slide 13) makes the claim of 'innovation' feel tangible rather than just a buzzword. · Peer Benchmarking: Slide 7 is a masterclass in using competitors to validate a business model. Instead of just listing names, they list downloads, pricing, and specific awards, which helps investors size the opportunity. · Visual Progress: The timeline on slide 17 clearly shows the velocity of the team, moving from an idea to two MVPs in approximately 18 months. This demonstrates execution capability.

Frequently asked questions

What is InGyre's core competitive advantage?: InGyre argues that their advantage lies in building proprietary game and physics engines from the ground up. According to slide 5, this 'Unique Technical Platform' approach faces lower competition because there is a 'very low supply of technically innovative games due to lack of capable teams.' They believe this technical depth leads to higher organic discovery by app store editorial teams and journalists.
What games are featured in the pitch?: The deck focuses on two titles: 'Beard of Power,' a 2D endless runner with RPG elements and a custom engine (Slide 9), and 'Rising Tide,' a 3D tower defense game set on water that uses a complex physical engine to model currents (Slide 13). Both games reached the MVP stage by July 2014.
How does InGyre plan to make money?: The monetization strategy is hybrid. For 'Beard of Power,' they propose a freemium model with in-app purchases. For 'Rising Tide,' they suggest a dual approach: a paid version with full functionality and a free version with limited functionality, both supported by a two-tier currency system for in-game items (Slide 15).
What is the status of the company's fundraising?: On slide 17, InGyre states they are seeking a 'seed round for the next 12 months.' The funds are intended to finish development and bring both games to market. However, the deck does not specify the amount of capital being raised, nor does it provide a valuation or use-of-funds breakdown beyond general categories like 'PR activities' and 'Game design.'
What critical information is missing from this deck?: The most significant omission is a team slide. While slide 17 mentions a 'core development team assembled' in June 2013, it provides no names, bios, or past successes. Additionally, there are no detailed financial projections, user acquisition cost (CAC) estimates, or a specific dollar amount for the investment ask.