B2B • Enterprise • Digital Commerce
Warner Bros.
Enterprise Web Commerce & Identity Platform
Led product design for a reusable D2C commerce platform spanning six planned storefronts, three of which launched publicly during my tenure. The channel supported $100M+ in web revenue.
Overview
I led UX and product design for a reusable D2C commerce platform across six planned mobile-game storefronts, three of which launched publicly during my tenure. The web channel processed more than $100M in revenue and helped participating titles shift over 40% of revenue from IAP to D2C. I also developed a roadmap of 12+ monetization experiments, with one or two controlled tests active at a time.
Role, Scope & Constraints
- Role: Lead UX Designer, Web Commerce & Monetization
- Duration: Mar 2023 – Mar 2025
- Scope: 6 planned storefronts across a live mobile portfolio, coordinating offshore engineering, legal, localization, and payment partners
- Constraints: 50+ departmental sign-offs per IP, platform-compliance requirements, real revenue at stake on live games
- Outcome: $100M+ D2C revenue supported; 3 storefronts launched publicly; 12+ experiments roadmapped
Research & Competitive Analysis
The mobile gaming industry faced a significant opportunity following Epic Games' successful court battles with Apple and Google. With platform fees of 30% cutting into potential revenue, we needed to develop a solution that would create alternative purchase channels while maintaining platform compliance, deliver a trustworthy and seamless user experience, scale across multiple game titles with different brand requirements, and maximize revenue recapture while accounting for payment processing costs.
In addition to web store tasks, I handled all competitive analysis for mobile games at WB Games. This meant auditing and collecting data on all 50 top-grossing games that aligned with our mobile game types on a monthly basis. The result was a comprehensive, easily searchable matrix of information covering payment service providers, SKU strategies, currency value propositions, and monetization best practices across the industry.
- Monthly audits of the top 50 grossing mobile games aligned with our game types
- Analyzed over 50 data points per competitor including payment providers and currency value propositions
- Built a comprehensive, easily searchable matrix of competitive intelligence
- Created a living document of best practices and market evolution that informed ongoing strategy
- Established an ongoing audit system to keep our strategy current with market trends
Competitive Analysis Matrix — Monthly Audit of Top 50 Mobile Games
Planning & Execution
I developed and implemented a systematic approach to rolling out our web store solution, creating a 200-point implementation guide covering the design, development, and launch phases. I established a prioritized feature development cadence based on revenue potential and technical complexity, designed a modular framework allowing for rapid iteration and feature testing, and coordinated cross-functional teams including game developers, UI/UX designers, legal consultants, localization experts, and payment processing partners.
- Created a 200-point implementation guide covering design, development, and launch phases
- Established a prioritized feature development cadence based on revenue potential and technical complexity
- Designed a modular framework allowing for rapid iteration and feature testing
- Coordinated cross-functional teams including developers, designers, legal, localization, and payment partners
- Ensured content was available in all supported languages and offers in dozens of currencies
- Creation of educational blog posts for each game's marketing site explaining the web store benefits
- Implementation of indirect linking systems that maintained platform guidelines
- Development of international compliance frameworks for various jurisdictions' requirements
Web Store System
I built a universal web store system that could be quickly deployed across any game title. By recreating a small set of branded assets from each game, the web store would feel like a seamless extension of the mobile game experience. This modular approach dramatically reduced launch timelines and ensured consistency across the entire portfolio.
- Designed a game-agnostic base architecture for rapid deployment across titles
- Created a flexible theming system that adapted to each game's visual identity with minimal asset recreation
- Implemented consistent purchase flows, cart experiences, and reward chain systems across all stores
- Standardized components reduced development time while maintaining unique brand experiences
- Ensured content was available in all supported languages and offers in dozens of currencies
The universal web store wireframes show the shared component system across desktop and mobile. Each game's store was built from these templates, then themed with game-specific assets.
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Desktop
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Mobile
Reward Chain — Desktop & Mobile Wireframes
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Desktop
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Mobile
Cart Experience — Desktop & Mobile Wireframes
Desktop
Mobile
Mortal Kombat: Onslaught — Desktop & Mobile
Player Network
Designed authentication, recovery, passwordless, age-permission, and commerce-connection flows for Player Network, Warner Bros.' cross-game identity system, in partnership with platform engineering, security, legal, and product teams. We streamlined the authentication process, added redundancies against DDoS attacks, introduced passwordless flows emulating the latest technologies and UX patterns, and elegantly handled age-related permissions and account creations following ever-changing international standards in nearly every country.
- Defined the design system for Player Network, WB's cross-game identity platform
- Streamlined the authentication process with modern passwordless flows
- Built redundancies against DDoS attacks for secure, resilient authentication
- Handled age-related permissions and account creation following international standards across nearly every country
- Created user flows connecting the identity system to web store experiences
Wireframes and User Journeys — Identity System to Web Store Flow
Results & Impact
Processed through the web channel
Across a live mobile portfolio
During tenure
Key Learnings
User Trust is Paramount
- Visual consistency with the main game was crucial for conversion
- Clear communication about benefits drove adoption by users
- Seamless purchase experiences increased repeat usage
Modularity Enables Scale
- Game-agnostic base architecture allowed rapid deployment
- Standardized components reduced development time
- A flexible theming system accommodated multiple brands
Compliance Requires Creativity
- Novel approaches to player communication allowed us to maintain platform relationships
- Regular legal review ensured ongoing compliance
- International considerations (GDPR) affected feature rollout
Project Results
Successful Launch
Web stores launched across multiple major game titles
Reusable Framework
Framework and wireframes for future game implementations
New Revenue Stream
Direct purchasing with minimal platform fees
Direct Relationships
Established direct purchasing relationships with player base
"Mario worked on our Webstore initiative, where he contributed to defining and refining the overall design direction. He worked closely with product and engineering partners to ensure consistency across touchpoints and helped translate strategic goals into a cohesive player experience.
Mario's thoughtful approach and willingness to engage across teams supported the Webstore's progress from concept to launch and helped establish a solid design foundation for future iterations."
