Get Ready for Summer 2025: LiveOps Strategies for the Hot Season

This article is on summer LiveOps events: how they work and what sets them apart. Featuring Royal Match, Squad Busters, and more.

— by Nikita Kozlov and Andrei Zubov

Get Ready for Summer 2025: LiveOps Strategies for the Hot Season

Summer is one of the best periods to launch LiveOps events in mobile games. It’s a universal season recognizable across cultures, emotionally charged, and almost free from the constraints of specific dates. Players are more open to new content, more engaged with the vacation vibe, and more likely to respond to both narrative and visual novelties!

To prepare for summer 2025, we analyzed some of the most notable summer event formats that fit well into almost any event grid and across genres: albums, passes, and milestone events.

Using AppMagic’s LiveOps & Updates Calendar, we’ve picked six events from summer 2024 that are either associated with revenue spikes or commonly used in their genres:

So let’s have a look at the past… to get all set for the future!

Albums: Perfect Fit for Summer

🌴 Let’s start with albums—one of the most popular event types in Casual and Midcore games today. Built around collection mechanics, they fit easily into core gameplay and work well alongside other events.

The card collection system pushes players to invest time and resources into completing full sets. Combined with good old gacha, this setup consistently drives both retention and revenue.

Royal Match: Same Formula, New Heat

How did it work? The Summer Collection ran from July to September. During this time, players assembled 15 collections, each consisting of 9 cards of varying rarity. Cards could be obtained through other events, level completion, passes, and friends. Technically, the event functioned as a layer on top of other activities: you play Match-3s, participate in tournaments, open chests—and keep filling the album as you go along.

What did it look like? The album was presented in a bright, summer-themed style. Backgrounds, cards, and rewards all matched the vacation and beach atmosphere, fitting perfectly with the timing of the event. After all, it's always great to scroll through summer photos, so why not do it in the game as well?

What did the player get? Completing each collection rewarded players with currency and boosters, while finishing the full album unlocked higher-value prizes. The structure encouraged regular play and helped pace progression across the entire event. In essence, the Summer Album is a classic Royal Match album—just reskinned with a seasonal aesthetic.

Why is it great? Royal Match runs a wide range of events: passes, albums, milestones, and more. Their durations vary from short hourly formats to full-season campaigns. Among them, albums stand out as some of the longest-running, making them especially effective at driving long-term retention. On top of that, the album format pairs well with other events like passes, helping build a layered and consistent LiveOps grid. This synergy proved particularly successful during the event, which coincided with the highest recorded revenue spike of 31.46% during the period.

Project Makeover: First Ever Album in the Game

AppMagic LiveOps Ttags: Album, Seasonal, Milestone, Other Reward System, Long (10+ days)

Dates: July 8 –to September 1

**How did it work? Summer Splash **was the first-ever album event introduced in Project Makeover, yet the developers applied established best practices from the start. The event followed the classic album format: players had to complete 24 collections, each consisting of 8 cards. Cards were awarded for completing levels, offered throughvia in-game deals, and given as rewards in other events. A trading system also allowed players to exchange duplicates with friends, adding a social layer to the experience.

What did it look like? The entire album was themed around a summer vacation, with clearstraightforward beach aesthetics across backgrounds, cards, and UI elements. The visual style reinforced the seasonal context and gave the event a light, relaxed tone that matched its timing.

What did the player get? Each of the 24 collections offersed rewards like hard currency, unlimited lives, temporary power-ups, and avatar cosmetics. The value scalesd with rarity—, but high-tier collections arewere deliberately hard to complete, with gacha mechanics and frequent duplicates slowing down progress. This design drives long-term retention and creates more monetization opportunities along the way.

Why is it great? Beyond collection-driven motivation, albums also lean into social interaction. In this case, players could trade cards—especially duplicates—adding a collaborative layer to the experience. This mechanic brought more variety to the format and made progression feel less grindy. While the idea is already standard for album events, it’s great to see it working effectively from the very first launch of album events in the game!

The new event naturally fit into the game’s existing LiveOps structure. While it was active, players engaged with 3 to 5 rotating limited-time events running alongside it—creating a steady flow of short-term goals within a long-term structure. Flexible by design, album events easily adapt to different cadences and content strategies, making them a reliable addition to any LiveOps toolkit.

Following the Summer Album, the team went on to launch its fall, winter, and spring editions, turning albums into a consistent seasonal format. So it’s safe to say that the next summer edition is just around the corner!

Battle Passes: Lasting Through Most of the Season

🏖️ Passes are one of the most effective LiveOps tools, contributing to both engagement and monetization. By breaking progression into milestones, they encourage daily logins, steady goal-setting, and consistent play over weeks. And with both free and premium tracks, they work for everyone—free players stay engaged, while paying users get more value and even stronger motivation to keep playing!

Royal Match: The Pillar of LiveOps AppMagic LiveOps tags: Seasonal, Paid Pass, Milestone, Long (10+ days)

Dates: July 1 to August 1

Summer Pass is a classic seasonal pass in Royal Match with two tracks, a milestone system, and a bonus bank at the final stage. The authentic and straightforward pass offered players both a free progression path and a purchasable one. The bonuses—boosters, lives, cards, profile items, and gifts for teammates—added value and justification for the purchase.

How did it work? The pass was launched alongside the Summer Collection album, creating a natural synergy between the two formats. By including album cards in the pass rewards, developers encouraged players to progress through both systems at once. This setup boosted the perceived value of the premium track and made album completion feel more achievable at the same time, thus encouraging deeper engagement with both events!

What did it look like? Palm trees, pools, cocktails, and a vibrant UI: the familiar Royal Match summer aesthetic. Even with unchanged mechanics, the summer styling gives players a sense of freshness. Users now expect the Summer Pass as part of the seasonal vibe—it has become a summer tradition.

Why is it great? In Royal Match, players are met with 10+ events running parallel on any given day. The battle pass stands out by tying everything together: providing structure, reinforcing daily routines, and supporting both mid- and long-term goal setting. It helps players navigate the event-heavy environment without feeling lost, making progression feel purposeful across multiple layers.

Squad Busters: A Solid Pass in a Half-Baked Game

LiveOps tags: Seasonal, Paid Pass, Milestone, Long (10+ days)

Dates: July 1 to August 14

Beach Party! was introduced about a month after Squad Busters launched. By then, the game was already losing momentum due to multiple balance, gameplay, and content issues it had upon its release—we covered it all in our research one year ago. As the first major event, it arrived just in time to try and reignite player interest!

In its essence, Beach Party! is another classic battle pass aimed at boosting retention and increasing the number of play sessions—but it came with a few distinct features that made it stand out. Introduced about a month after the game’s initial launch, the event marked the project’s first large-scale seasonal content drop.

How did it work? The event followed the familiar dual-track progression system. As a final reward, players received a Mega Unit that could be used in battle and lost after use. The twist: it could be earned multiple times, making the pass appealing even after completion. This repeatability added long-term value and kept engagement high. However, because the utility of Mega Units was unpredictable, the final reward didn’t always feel as impactful.

What did it look like? Once again, we see the tried-and-true visual setup: palm trees, sun loungers, and bright sunshine. It’s a proven design choice that supports the overall event mood.

The results? The pass had clear room for improvement: despite strong visuals, it lacked any real sense of exclusivity—no character skins, no avatar cosmetics, just consumables and progression boosts. Even the final reward was a one-time-use unit to be lost after battle! Still, according to *Squad Busters*’ AppStore page, the Season Pass ranks as the game’s second-best IAP.

So, while the chart below shows a drop in metrics during the event, this reflects issues with the core gameplay rather than the pass itself. Nevertheless, the fact that Supercell added cosmetics and skins in its later passes suggests they took that feedback seriously.

It’s a clear reminder: stunning visuals and fun themes aren’t enough as players expect lasting, fair-value rewards.

-Reskins: May Gem Pass!, Bullets and Burgers

Milestone events

☀️Milestone events share structural similarities with battle passes but take a more player-friendly approach. They don’t split rewards into paid and free tiers; instead, they offer a steady stream of bonuses tied purely to progress. This helps foster a sense of achievement without paywall pressure. Milestones are easy to integrate into core gameplay and feel more organic. As a result, they’re perfect for gently boosting engagement across a wide audience.

*Project Makeover*: New activity - LiveOps tags: Customization / Decoration, Other Mechanics, One-time, Competitive, Milestone, Leaderboard, Medium (4-10 days) - Dates: June 21 to June 28

Project Makeover’s Summer Retreat became one of the most notable seasonal events with a competitive twist. Progress was based on completing tasks and receiving votes for avatar photos.

How did it work? Players styled their characters and photographed them against specific themed backdrops. The more votes they received from other participants, the higher they climbed on the leaderboard. At its core, the event combined personal customization with a strong social element—players had to visit other users’ rooms and vote for them.

As players progressed, they unlocked new milestone tiers, earning boosters, unlimited lives, cosmetics, and collectible card packs. Additionally, the Rainbow Bonus system was activated, allowing them to accumulate extra points while playing regular levels. Integration with the core gameplay made the event feel less intrusive, while the rewards remained meaningful.

Running parallel was the Summer Splash album, which we analyzed above. Together, these two formats complemented each other, the album encouraging consistent logins and card collection and the milestone event adding short-term goals and momentum to the player's daily gameplay flow.

What did the player get? Unlike traditional battle passes, where much of the content is locked behind premium access, milestone events reward all players based on progress. The motivation is built around achieving goals and engaging in social activities. This creates a gentle but effective form of engagement without explicit monetization pressure. Events with social mechanics like this work especially well when timed with traffic acquisition campaigns, helping new users get onboarded faster and feel involved from the start.

-Reskins: Royal Days Of Spring

Triple Match 3D: 8 Summer Events LiveOps tags: Irregular, Milestone, Medium (4-10 days) Dates: June 7 to August 9

In Triple Match 3D, the summer season is structured as a chain of milestone events that run back-to-back, with no breaks and minimal changes to core mechanics. The sequence includes 8 events in total: Summer Challenge, Tropical Challenge, Sunny Challenge, and others. All of them function as visual reskins of the same formula: players earn points through levels, fill a shared progress bar, and unlock rewards.

How did it work? Each week, a new mini-event goes live, often with a light thematic shift—say, from beaches to picnics. This predictable rhythm helps form a habit of returning, as players always know something new is coming. Events unlock early (at level 11), require no onboarding, and serve as a soft background layer that consistently reinforces engagement with the core gameplay.

What did it look like? Milestone events fit perfectly into level-based games—and Triple Match 3D is exactly that. The event was gently integrated into the core gameplay, maintaining player interest through boosters and extra lives. This approach increased playtime without relying on direct monetization, which is especially important for many players.

What Makes Great Events Summer is one of the most recognizable and versatile seasonal themes in games. It resonates across cultures, instantly sets a distinct mood, and brings a fresh visual layer to the player experience. That makes it a natural fit for LiveOps!

While there are many formats that can be reskinned and refreshed, we’ve focused on the three that fit seamlessly into almost any LiveOps schedule, making them perfect not just for summer but for any season: - Albums drive long-term engagement through collection and progression loops. - Passes structure player activity and work well for both retention and monetization metrics. - Milestones offer fast, low-friction incentives for increasing daily playtime and the number of sessions.

As we head into summer 2025, it is the perfect moment to reflect on your seasonal LiveOps strategies and maybe introduce some of the practices we’ve explored today. Even if your summer roadmap is already laid out, with AppMagic’s LiveOps & Updates Calendar, you can explore the event schedules of 220+ games and start planning not just for summer but for the fall and beyond. After all, well-structured events can brighten up any season!