Case Study: Mobile Gaming Retention Strategy

Company Background
Mindstorm Studios is a successful Pakistani mobile game development company specializing in casual
and hyper-casual mobile games for global markets. With 100+ employees in Lahore, the company has
published 15+ games with over 50M downloads and generates $12M annual revenue.
Current Company Strengths

● Competitive Compensation: Dollar-pegged salaries matching local market rates

● Open Culture: Transparent communication, flat hierarchy, regular town halls
● Market Position: Top Pakistani mobile gaming studio in Pakistan
● Employee Benefits: Comprehensive health coverage, flexible hours, learning budgets

The Strategic Challenge

Despite competitive positioning, leadership recognizes emerging retention risks and wants to implement
proactive retention strategies before problems escalate. Recent market intelligence suggests potential
challenges ahead.

Data Set for Analysis

Current Workforce Demographics (Q4 2024)

Department Headcount Avg Avg Tenure Gender Split Education

Age (months) (M/F) Level

Game 60 26.8 18.2 87%/13% 80% Bachelor's+

Development

Game Design 8 28.1 18.5 60%/40% 90% Bachelor's+

Art 25 25.4 35.8 30%/70% 68% Bachelor's+

Operations/HR 7 31.2 28.9 40%/60% 70% Bachelor's+

Compensation Analysis (USD Pegged)

Role Level Current Salary Local Market Remote Market Internal

 (USD) (USD) (USD) Satisfaction

Junior Developer $500-1200 $500-1000 $2500-3500 8.1/10

Mid Developer $1500-2200 $1400-1800 $4000-5500 7.8/10

Senior Developer $2500-3500 $2200-3000 $5500-7500 7.2/10

Lead Developer $3500-4500 $3200-4200 $6500-9000 6.9/10

Principal/Architect $4500-6000 $4000-5500 $8000-12000 6.4/10

Employee Engagement Survey Results

Factor Current Score Industry Benchmark Trend (6mo)

Overall Satisfaction 7.6/10 7.2/10 ↓ 0.3

Career Growth 7.1/10 6.8/10 ↓ 0.5

Work-Life Balance 8.2/10 7.5/10 → 0.0

Compensation Fairness 7.9/10 7.1/10 ↓ 0.4

Leadership Trust 8.4/10 7.8/10 ↓ 0.2

Learning Opportunities 6.8/10 6.9/10 ↓ 0.6

Remote Flexibility 6.2/10 5.8/10 ↓ 0.8

Talent Risk Assessment Matrix

Employee Segment Count Flight Risk Market Replacement Business

Level Demand Difficulty Impact

High Performers (Top 12 Medium-High Very High Extremely Hard Critical

10%)
 Key Technical 8 High Extremely Impossible (6- Critical
Leaders High 12mo)

Solid Contributors 72 Low-Medium High Moderate-Hard High

(60%)

Developing Talent 24 Low Medium Easy-Moderate Medium

(25%)

Performance & Succession Gap Analysis

Critical Role Successor Ready Gap Timeline Knowledge Transfer Risk

CTO No successor 12+ months Extreme

Lead Game Designer 1 potential (50%) 8 months High

Senior Unity Architect 2 potential (60%) 6 months High

Art Director No successor 10+ months Extreme

Server Lead No successor 12+ months Extreme

Strategic Challenge

Despite a strong brand and competitive compensation, the studio faces new talent retention challenges:
● Global competition offering remote roles with higher USD salaries
● Increasing difficulty retaining technical and creative talent
● Rising salary expectations creating internal pay disparities
● On-site work preference becoming a constraint
● Lack of a structured succession pipeline for key roles

Required Deliverables & Analysis

1. Risk Prediction Model (25% of evaluation)

Help us predict who might leave and act before they do.

● Build a scoring system using the provided data

● Find the top 5 red flags that predict turnover
● Create risk segments and action triggers

What You’ll Submit:

 ● A simple retention risk matrix
● Clear risk levels (e.g., Low, Medium, High) and what action each triggers

2. Succession Planning Framework (20% of evaluation)

Plan for the future — who steps up when someone leaves?

● Pick 3 critical roles (from the provided list)

● Suggest possible successors and growth timelines
● Create knowledge transfer steps and milestones

What You’ll Submit:

● A succession table with timelines and successors

● Bullet points on how knowledge transfer will happen

3. Retention Intervention Strategy (20% of evaluation)

Design custom programs for each risk group — not one-size-fits-all.

● Suggest non-monetary ways to retain top people

● Build early warning systems to flag risks
● Use Mindstorm’s culture as an advantage

What You’ll Submit:

● Tiered retention ideas (High, Medium, Low risk)

● Example programs (e.g., mentor tracks, project rotations)
● Metrics for measuring what works

4. Implementation Roadmap (25% of evaluation)

We need a plan we can follow — with milestones, budget, and focus.

● Budget: You have $240K per year to work with

● Include a timeline with major milestones
● Add a change plan for leadership and employees

What You’ll Submit:

● A simple roadmap: Month-by-month what happens (or quarter by quarter, your call)
● Budget split across initiatives (in bullet points)
● 3-5 KPI ideas to track success

5. Analytics & Monitoring (10% of evaluation)

We want this to be ongoing, not just a one-time fix.

● Suggest metrics to monitor retention health

What You’ll Submit:

● List of 5–7 key retention metrics

● Your idea for a simple tracking/reporting system
Extra Analysis (Optional)

● What factors most strongly correlate with retention risk?

● When is the best time to intervene to save costs?

Strategic Thinking Questions (that might help you)

● How do you balance retention investments vs. profitability?

● How can you implement succession plans without causing insecurity?
● How can we make Mindstorm culture a reason to stay, not leave?

Target Audience: CEO, Head of Operations, and existing HR team

This case study evaluates your ability to think strategically about retention, use data for decision-making,
and implement practical HR solutions in a fast-growing mobile gaming environment.

Final Submission Guidelines

● Format: Bullet points preferred, avoid long paragraphs

● Deliverables: One PDF or Google Slides deck
● Tools allowed: Excel, Google Sheets, Slides, Notion — your call