like it would undermine that experience.” They needed a model that let them remove the cost without compromising the design.


WHY THE WEB, AND WHY NOW The web wasn’t the original plan. But when the team started exploring what a web release would look like, a few things came together. “A WebGL build running in the browser is almost indistinguishable from the native experience, which wasn’t really true back in 2018,” they said. Second, the way players find games has changed. A link can live


anywhere: in a press article, a design blog, a social post. On the App Store, that link takes you to a store page where you still have to decide to commit. On the web, it just opens the game. “Click a link and you’re in. For a game built around quick, satisfying moments, that kind of instant access opens up a completely different kind of discovery,” the team noted. There’s also a reach argument. Before the VIVERSE launch,


Alphaputt could only be played on iOS. It’s now playable on desktop, Android, and iOS from a single build. For a game with a strong following in the design community, being playable on any device with a browser, from smartphones to desktops, was an option worth exploring.


WHY VIVERSE FOR THE PORT Once the team decided to pursue a web release, they needed the right platform, and it was important to have a good monetization model. VIVERSE’s Partner Program pays creators based on engagement time rather than ad impressions, which meant the team could make Alphaputt free without introducing advertising. That was the model they’d been looking for. “Players get instant, free access and we earn based on how long


they actually play. That felt like the right trade-off for a game like ours,” the team said. The non-exclusive nature of the platform also mattered. “We weren’t being asked to take the game off the App Store or lock it to a single platform.” VIVERSE sits alongside their existing presence rather than replacing it.


to a newer version of Unity before a WebGL build. Support from VIVERSE’s Creator Grant program helped fund some of that overdue technical work. Six months from agreement to a live web game. For a small studio


with a beloved but stalling title, that kind of timeline changes the conversation around legacy games entirely. Porting to the web isn’t a last resort. It’s a legitimate growth strategy, one that opens new audiences, removes purchase friction, and through VIVERSE’s Partner Program, generates revenue based on how long players actually play.


WHAT SURPRISED THEM Alphaputt was designed for a small mobile screen, but the team discovered it translates beautifully to a larger desktop display. The detail, lighting, textures, the animated touches in every scene, all holds up well at a bigger size. The mouse controls are a big part of why. As the team described


it, “right click to rotate the letter and scroll to zoom feels surprisingly natural, and in some ways more precise and satisfying than touch.” The conversion data tells an interesting story too. On the paid


App Store, less than 1% of visitors become players. During the free promotion, that jumped to around 16%. On the web, roughly half of all visitors start playing. Engagement has been strong. Average session lengths of around


ten minutes are solid for a browser game. The top 10% of players are staying for twenty minutes or more, which suggests that when people find Alphaputt, they really settle into it. Since February 2026, Alphaputt has seen over 150,000 plays on VIVERSE.


THE PORTING PROCESS The intention was always a port, not a rebuild. The levels, mechanics, sound design, and visual style were staying exactly as they were. But the game was eight years old, and the codebase needed updating


WHAT’S NEXT? The team has VR on the roadmap, and they’ve already built a prototype. Alphaputt’s typographic mini worlds lend themselves naturally to an immersive format. Knowing that VIVERSE has WebXR capabilities built in meant this partnership could lead somewhere beyond a one-off port.


September/October 2026 MCV/DEVELOP | 25


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