Return Entertainment, a Finland-based developer of cloud-native smart video gaming platform, said the debut game Rival ArenaIt is now available for use by fire trucks in the UK.
By bringing your rival arena to Amazon Fire TV, Retrent Entertainment challenges traditional ways of interacting with the game, allowing you to access the premium experience without specialized hardware. With Return Entertainment’s platform, players can use their smartphone as a controller by simply scanning a QR code, bringing a new way to enjoy the game in the comfort of their living room.
“Working with Amazon, we can complement game innovation in ways that benefit players at all levels,” Vesa Jutila, CEO of Return Entertainment, said in a statement. “AWS GPUs create an environment where you can create an accessible vision for video games, tailored to the cloud infrastructure, in-game ad monetization strategies, and a combination of Fire TV, AWS Cloud Services, Amazon Games Studios and Prime Video.”
In a message to GamesBeat, Jutila said the company is starting in the UK to test appeals to television users and verify its monetization potential with in-game ads.
“Platform-level integration is integrated with the Player One Ad Network, and great full-screen TV video ads are great,” he said. “Rivals Arena supports both mandatory non-skippable video interstitials and optionally paid video ads. Rewarded ad placement works well on Samsung TVS, where almost 50% of all ad views are rewarded (users watch more ads for in-game rewards).”
The plan is to quickly expand to other fire television markets, he added.
Rivals Arena is a fast-paced card battler with the twist that has previously captivated audiences in the US as part of its exclusive early launch on Samsung Smart TVS. The company reports that user data shows a significant adoption rate, with 85% of players reporting that mobile controllers are easy to use, while 88% say they can start the game quickly.
Most notably, the platform has successfully reached a new game audience, with 44% of users playing the game on TV for the first time. This success demonstrates the ability of return entertainment to blur the line between casual television viewing and interactive games.
New monetization model for smart video games
Return Entertainment has brought new monetization and performance analytics to smart TVs using a casual gaming platform solution. Rivals Arena integrates in-game video ads, including non-skipable video interstials and optional rewarded video ads. This is the first of the smart video games. This approach opens new markets for performance ads with higher CPM (cost per mill) possibilities, moving beyond traditional brand ads that dominate TV ads without measurable effectiveness.
The platform’s monetization strategy already shows strong engagement metrics, with over 50% of players choosing to watch optionally paid ads, adding an average of 10 ad views per hour of gameplay.
Make cloud technology affordable
Rivals Arena leverages AWS Spot Instances to enable Return Entertainment to significantly reduce the cost of using cloud GPUs. These Spot Instances – a stock of non-reserved GPU instances that can be reassigned with a short 2-minute notification – are usually priced up to 90% lower than standard on-demand instances.
“Spot instances are usually difficult to use in traditional real-time cloud gaming, but our unique architecture allows the platform to handle them on the spot, further reducing cloud GPU costs without compromising the visual fidelity of the gameplay,” Jutila said.
Jutila said the company has 13 people.
“AWS wants to work with partners who push the boundaries of what is possible with modern cloud-based solutions. We are excited to work with Return Entertainment to extend the use of Spot Instances to a big screen game.
