Hello and welcome to the East Side Games Group Q2 2025 earnings call. Today, we'll be going over the performance of our core portfolio for Q2 of 2025, the launch of RuPaul's Match Queen, as well as some exciting things coming up in our Q3 of 2025 launches. I'd like to remind everyone that some of the statements made are forward-looking under the applicable securities laws. The details and disclaimer for which can be found at our website at www.eastsidegamesgroup.com. Thank you.
Hi everyone, I'm Jason Chan, Interim CFO of East Side Games , and here's our results for Q2. We ended the quarter with a top-line revenue of $19.2 million, 6% down from Q2 2023, but a 4% increase from Q1. The core portfolio remains consistent and strong, contributing positive cash flows that continue to fund our investments and our new growth games. We achieved an adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 million, a margin of 8%. This is a result of our increased marketing spend budget on our new game launch, RuPaul's Match , as well as a ramp-up of our titles in the latter half of the quarter to take advantage of favorable payback windows, whose results we expect to see in Q3. On the balance sheet side, we ended the quarter with $4.1 million in cash, with zero debt, down $1.3 million from Q1.
The company also received a subsequent inflow of cash from Apple of $1.37 million in July for Q2 revenue recognized. The core portfolio continues to generate positive operating cash flows that give us the flexibility to continue funding our growth games and future projects. For game metrics, the player base remains strong, with an average DAO of 203,000 players and an ARP DAO of $1.04. Although there were some seasonal pullbacks, we're starting to see some good payback opportunities going into Q3, and we will continue to invest in acquiring users for these games to ensure that the growth is both profitable and sustainable. We also remain active on the previously announced NCIB, and have repurchased 517,000 shares in the quarter, bringing us to a total of 4.4 million shares canceled since inception.
We believe that the current price of the company's common shares does not fully reflect their inherent value. We believe that the shares repurchases at the current pricing level are an effective allocation of our capital and give value to our shareholders. We are also in a strong position to actively monitor and evaluate all other capital allocation priorities, which may include new IP, user acquisition, or M&A. The company will continue to balance the need for growth with return of capital for shareholders. We're also seeing some positive changes in the Canadian tax credit environment that will allow us to invest more in the Canadian workforce, with increased rates in BC, as well as updates to SR&ED, which can further fund our future growth opportunities.
The highlight event in Q2 was the official worldwide launch of RuPaul's Match , which has quickly become our highest-grossing match-three game in the studio, just two weeks into launch at the end of the quarter. This is only the beginning, and we look forward to a robust Q3 with the launch of another new title, Squishmallows Match. In summary, Q2 was a strong quarter of growth for ESG , and we will carry that momentum into the second half of the year as we continue to invest in the growth of these new games while maintaining profitability and stability in the core portfolio. Thank you for all your support, and I'll hand it off to Jim.
Hello, I'm Jim Wagner, Chief Product Officer. Q2 has been another strong quarter for East Side Games , demonstrating our continued commitment to delivering engaging mobile game experiences and driving sustainable growth. In terms of our core portfolio of idle games, they continued to demonstrate long-tail revenue generation and sustained player engagements. Some highlights from Q2 include The Office: Somehow We Manage season pass reaches 8.5% of monthly revenue, putting it on par with our other narrative-driven idle games. Team leaderboards launched in both Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money and RuPaul's Drag Race Superstar. As a result, RuPaul's Drag Race Superstar average revenue per daily active user is up 12% quarter- over- quarter, and Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money has seen high engagement with the feature, which we also plan to leverage to increase monetization in Q3.
Experiments in price and offer segmentation on Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money, Cheech and Chong Bud Farm, and Bud Farm: Idle Tycoon continue to show increases to event revenue. Going into Q3 will bring these successes to more gains across the portfolio. We're also excited to share some early insights into the worldwide launch of RuPaul's Drag Race Match and the promising soft launch metrics for Squishmallows Match. RuPaul's Drag Race Match saw its worldwide launch in Q2. We are thrilled with the initial performance, and the early metrics are meeting our expectations. RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen has quickly become the highest ARP DAO match-three game in our portfolio. To put this into perspective, its average revenue per daily active user is double that of our successful match-three games.
This outstanding performance is a testament to our live operations strategy and the deep engagement the game is fostering. Our retention metrics for RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen are strong, consistently at or above industry benchmarks. This indicates that the players are finding the game highly enjoyable and are returning day after day, which is crucial for long-term revenue generation. We are not resting on our laurels, and our development team is actively working on new features to further enhance RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen's performance. We have several exciting updates in the pipeline designed to boost both revenue and retention, including daily missions. A daily missions feature that will provide players with new objectives and rewards, encouraging consistent engagement. A new mini-game mechanic designed to add variety and new monetization opportunities based on iconic moments from the show.
Legacy collections that will introduce new ways to collect fashion from past seasons to incentivize long-term play and provide additional avenues for player progression and monetization. We are confident that these upcoming features will solidify RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen's position as a top-performing title in the match-three genre. Now let's turn our attention to Squishmallows Match, which is currently in a soft launch phase, and we are very encouraged by what we're seeing in these early stages. With Squishmallows Match, we're introducing fans to a new way to collect, play, and connect with the Squishmallows plush they love. This casual match-three puzzle game blends the collectible spirit of Squishmallows with rewarding gameplay, letting players build scenes, showcase their squads, and engage daily through personalized feeds.
With features like season passes, limited time drops, and claw machine rewards, the game drives both engagement and monetization while expanding the Squishmallows brand into mobile gaming. Early metrics such as level funnel and conversion are strong, meeting or exceeding our benchmarks. We are collaborating with Jazwares to align in-game Squishmallows with real-world plush. Our first initiative features a new Squishmallow launching both in-game and as a physical product, creating synergy across platforms and enhancing fan engagement. As of now, all core features for the worldwide launch of Squishmallows Match are now implemented. Our current focus is entirely on polish, stability, and bug fixing to ensure a seamless and high-quality experience for players upon global release. We are on track for this global release in September this year.
The promising soft launch metrics for Squishmallows Match further validate our diversified portfolio strategy and our ability to develop and launch successful new titles. Coming up in Q3, we'll be rolling out the event Piggy Bank to more games following its success in Q2 on Bud Farm: Idle Tycoon, where it increased revenue by 17%. We'll be building on the success of the team leaderboard feature by introducing messaging and chat and more ways to coordinate and interact with your team. We'll also be adding additional season pass placements to our games to allow players to engage in two seasons in parallel, each with their own pass. We are also proud to announce a new partnership with Trailer Park Boys. Later this year, we'll launch Trailer Park Boys: Match, our first narrative-driven hybrid match game. This game will combine fun, accessible match-three gameplay with iconic, true-to-the-brand story sequences.
In closing, East Side Games has had an excellent second quarter, driven by the strong initial performance of RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen, the encouraging soft launch results of Squishmallows Match, and the continued strength of our core portfolio. We remain committed to executing on our strategic priorities and delivering long-term value to our shareholders. As Jim mentioned, the first 30 days of RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen launch have been successful on several fronts, particularly due to early full-funnel marketing campaigns. With strong early metrics, over 45% day-one retention and ARP DAO above $1, we saw a clear opportunity to scale spend while staying within our 180-day payback targets. One of the standout successes has been the impact of full-funnel marketing, with branded initiatives driving meaningful improvements across both awareness and performance.
When the game appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, we saw more than double the number of organic installs. Paid ads also performed better, with double the return on day one. This shows that brand exposure helps us reach more players and makes our advertising more effective. The first 30 days have been strong, but there's still a lot of room to grow. As our players stick around longer, we expect to see better returns over time. As for our Q3 plans, our biggest change with the core portfolio is setting stricter daily spend targets for each title to keep daily active users steady or growing. By being more aggressive with spending and balancing growth and profitability, we expect games like The Office: Somehow We Manage, RuPaul's Drag Race Superstar, Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money, and Bud Farm: Idle Tycoon to grow more in Q3.
Our goal for Q3 is to continue to grow Match Queen. We're increasing collaboration between brand marketing and user acquisition to create more shared content, which should improve installs per impression and lower our cost per install. We're also working with agencies to produce more user-generated content, helping both organic growth and paid advertising. Meanwhile, we continue to explore how to better utilize TikTok as a user acquisition network. We are very excited to launch Squishmallows Match in September. Squishmallows offers a different opportunity compared to Match Queen. While the RuPaul audience spends well, reaching those users can be expensive. Squishmallows targets a broader audience, which helps us get installs at a much lower cost. In our tech and soft launches, the cost per install has been more than half of what we saw during similar stages for Match Queen.
We will continue working closely with our product marketing team to develop a full-funnel approach, integrating all efforts into one unified strategy. Applying learnings from Match Queen, we're investing heavily in creating the assets needed to support a successful full-funnel launch for Squishmallows Match.
Hi, I am Elin Jonsson, and I'm the Chief Business Officer at East Side Games. As Hakeem touched on earlier, we are already seeing early signs that our full-funnel marketing approach for Match Queen is working. Knowing the user acquisition is more competitive than ever, we invested in a full-funnel strategy, combining paid media, UA campaigns, creator partnerships, cultural moments, and organic community building into one unified effort. Timing was key. We launched at the same time as RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars, Season 10 that aired on Paramount+, coordinated with sponsored Pride campaigns, and activated a strategic network of LGBTQ fashion and gaming creators. This wasn't just a game launch; it was a cultural moment that lived across platforms. The results are promising. Over the July 4th weekend, we saw a strong organic lift. Daily installs doubled and were largely fueled by our second in-show feature on Paramount+.
Social engagement is also gaining momentum. A recent Instagram video featuring former RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars winner Trixie Mattel on our social media channels has reached 217,000 views and over 5,500 engagements, delivering an engagement rate well above industry benchmarks. We had received outreach on social media from a number of Drag Race Queens sharing content of them playing the game or asking how to be part of the game. Media partnerships were central to our strategy. Match Queen was integrated into All-Stars episodes on June 20th, July 4th, and we had multiple integrations and mentions of the game during Gaming Awards on June 25th. Looking ahead to Q3, we are continuing the full-funnel approach to keep Match Queen culturally relevant and highly visible as we scale.
Key moments in Q3 will include placement in the premiere episode of Fashion Photo Review: Slashion Royale, to accompany the highly anticipated launch of the next iteration of the Drag Race Philippines franchise that premieres August 13. We're also having a focus on developing our TikTok channel, including ongoing content development with Queens and other creators. We're also hosting a unique event to kick off the New York Fashion Week that centers around the impact of drag culture across mediums. We are gearing up for the launch of our next major title, Squishmallows Match, with pre-registration and pre-orders live since August 6. Jazwares is a leader in the toy industry, and it's been an honor to work closely with our amazing team. Their attention to detail and deep care for the brand have been essential in helping us capture the true spirit of Squishmallows in the game.
We worked hard to ensure the game reflects the brand's essence and delights fans everywhere. For the global launch in September, we're executing a full-funnel marketing strategy, leveraging media, influencers, and a close collaboration with Jazwares to bring iconic brand moments into the game. This partnership strengthens synergy between digital and physical experiences. We're also applying key learnings from RuPaul's Drag Race Match Queen, with a greater emphasis on product marketing to drive awareness, acquisition, and engagement across the funnel. As Jim mentioned, we are partnering closely with Jazwares to align the game with the real-world Squishmallows brand. The first integration is a new Squishmallows available in-game at launch, with a giveaway tied to pre-registration and pre-order. Finally, we're excited to soon open up pre-registration and pre-orders for Trailer Park Boys: Match.
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian treasure, and we have had a strong relationship with the brand for many years. Over eight years ago, we launched Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money. Now it's time to give fans a fresh experience, one that brings them back to what they love the most, which is the stories for the boys.
Thank you, everybody, and thank you especially to everybody who joined us today on this earnings call. We hope you enjoyed the information that you got and look forward to our new launches as much as we are. See you in Q3.