LVL6 was a mobile gaming startup that participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2012 batch, aiming to become "the Zynga of mobile" with a focus on social MMOs for Android and iOS.[1] Founded by Alex Lin, Conrad Chan, and Calvin Tuong, the company achieved early success with their first game Mercenary Inc, which reached the top ten in app stores and gained over 250,000 users in a single week.[2]
Despite this promising start and claims of having a proprietary game development engine, LVL6 struggled to maintain momentum in the increasingly competitive mobile gaming market. After four years of operation and only two successful titles, the company was sold to Chinese gaming company R2 Games in late 2015.[3] LVL6's trajectory illustrates the challenges of building a sustainable mobile gaming business, even with strong initial traction and technical capabilities.
LVL6 was founded by a team with prior startup experience. CEO Alex Lin had previously co-founded G6Pay, an ad network provider, giving him relevant experience in the mobile ecosystem.[4] He was joined by Conrad Chan as CTO and Calvin Tuong as co-founders.[5]
The team's vision was ambitious: to build the mobile equivalent of Zynga, the social gaming giant that had dominated Facebook gaming. At their Y Combinator Demo Day presentation in March 2012, Lin boldly declared, "We're gearing up to be the Zynga of mobile."[6]
The founding team believed they had cracked the code for mobile game success, claiming to have "an equation that guarantees that our games will be engaging, monetizable and huge hits."[7] This confidence was backed by their proprietary game engine, which they claimed allowed them to develop high-quality titles in a fraction of the time that competitors required.[8]
November 2011 — Mercenary Inc launched on App Store and Google Play[9]
2012 — LVL6 participated in Y Combinator Winter 2012 batch[10]
March 2012 — Demo Day presentation claiming top 10 app store success and 250K users in one week[11]
June 2015 — Alex Lin appeared on podcast as CEO discussing mobile game monetization[12]
Late 2015 — LVL6 sold to R2 Games (Chinese company)[13]
2016 — Alex Lin founded Hush in Y Combinator S16 batch[14]
LVL6 focused on creating social mobile games for Android and iOS platforms, with their flagship title being Mercenary Inc, a mobile MMO that launched in November 2011.[15] The company positioned itself as a creator of social mobile games, targeting the growing smartphone gaming market.[16]
The team's core technical advantage was their proprietary game development engine, which they claimed enabled faster development cycles compared to competitors. This engine was central to their strategy of rapid game development and deployment.[17]
Beyond the technology, LVL6 claimed to have developed a formula for creating engaging and monetizable games. This systematic approach to game design was intended to reduce the hit-or-miss nature of game development that plagued many studios.[18]
We could not find detailed information about other specific games in their portfolio beyond Mercenary Inc, though the company did achieve two titles that reached top sales positions over their four-year operational period.[19]
LVL6 entered the mobile gaming market during a period of explosive growth, positioning themselves in the social mobile MMO space. Their primary competition included established mobile gaming companies and the emerging wave of mobile-first game developers.
The company differentiated itself through three key claims: their proprietary development engine that enabled faster game creation, their systematic approach to game design that supposedly guaranteed engagement and monetization, and their focus on social mechanics within mobile MMOs.[20]
However, the mobile gaming market was becoming increasingly competitive, with major players like King, Supercell, and established console developers moving into mobile. The market was also shifting toward free-to-play models with sophisticated monetization mechanics, requiring significant ongoing content updates and community management.
We could not find specific information about LVL6's revenue model, pricing strategy, or unit economics. As a mobile gaming company focused on social MMOs, they likely employed a freemium model with in-app purchases, which was becoming the standard for mobile games during their operational period.
The company received funding from Y Combinator and Great Oaks Venture Capital, though specific funding amounts were not disclosed.[21]
LVL6 achieved notable early success with Mercenary Inc, which reached the top ten in app stores and gained more than 250,000 new users in a single week.[22] This early traction validated their approach and provided strong momentum coming out of Y Combinator.
Over their four-year operational period, the company achieved two titles that reached top sales positions in the App Store.[23] However, we could not find specific revenue figures, user retention metrics, or details about their second successful title.
The fact that they only achieved two successful titles over four years suggests they struggled to consistently replicate their initial success, despite their claims of having a systematic approach to game development.
LVL6 was sold to R2 Games, a Chinese gaming company, in late 2015 and is now listed as permanently closed.[24][25] We could not find specific details about the acquisition terms or the founders' stated reasons for the sale.
The timeline suggests that despite early promise and continued operation for four years, LVL6 was unable to build a sustainable business. The mobile gaming market's increasing competitiveness, the difficulty of consistently producing hit games, and the high user acquisition costs that emerged in the mobile gaming ecosystem likely contributed to their challenges.
After the sale, founder Alex Lin moved on to launch Hush, a social commerce app, in Y Combinator's Summer 2016 batch, indicating a pivot away from gaming entirely.[26]
Early traction doesn't guarantee long-term success in gaming. Despite achieving top-ten app store rankings and significant user acquisition with their first title, LVL6 struggled to maintain momentum. The gaming industry's hit-driven nature means that even successful studios can fail if they cannot consistently produce engaging content.
Proprietary technology alone is insufficient differentiation. While LVL6's game development engine provided initial advantages, technology alone couldn't sustain their competitive position as the mobile gaming market matured and larger players entered with significant resources.
Market timing matters more than founders often realize. LVL6 entered mobile gaming during its early growth phase but operated through a period of increasing consolidation and rising user acquisition costs. Their four-year journey coincided with the mobile gaming market becoming dominated by a few major players with substantial marketing budgets.
Claims of systematic game success should be viewed skeptically. LVL6's assertion that they had "an equation that guarantees" successful games proved overly optimistic. The creative and unpredictable nature of game development makes such systematic approaches difficult to execute consistently.
Exit timing can preserve value even in challenging circumstances. By selling to R2 Games rather than shutting down, LVL6's founders likely preserved some value for themselves and investors, demonstrating the importance of recognizing when to exit rather than continuing to burn resources.