InnoGames' Zoran Gjorgiev details Heroes of

InnoGames product manager Zoran Gjorgiev has detailed a significant shift in live operations strategy for the mobile game Heroes of History. The insights come from a conversation reported by PocketGamer.biz, where Gjorgiev explained rebuilding the game's event calendar from the ground up.

Gjorgiev came to live ops management through a challenging route. He initially joined the team for Forge of Empires late in its lifecycle. The event calendar was already packed, and the player base had firm expectations. His move to Heroes of History presented the opposite problem: there was no established calendar at all. This blank slate gave him the freedom to build his own vision for the game's live service.

Evolving Live Ops Philosophy

After two years, Gjorgiev has revised several core beliefs. He once thought a successful game needed a live event running every single day. His perspective has changed. He now clusters events into short, intense bursts and intentionally leaves quiet gaps between them. This approach contrasts sharply with the crowded schedule he inherited on Forge of Empires.

Another conviction has also shifted. Gjorgiev previously assumed that innovative gameplay mechanics were the key to a successful event. He has since concluded that the reward is the primary driver. If the reward offered to players is compelling enough, he believes the surrounding gameplay details become secondary. This focus on player motivation is central to his current strategy.

The Challenge of Iteration

A key part of Gjorgiev's discussion centered on why successful event formulas eventually stop working. He diagnosed that players either learn to optimize and beat the system, or they simply grow bored and stop engaging. His solution is continuous, layered iteration. Instead of overhauling everything at once, his team changes one component at a time. This could be the reward structure, the event runtime, or its thematic skin.

Each incremental change provides a clear lesson. This method allows the team to understand precisely what drives player engagement up or down. It is a deliberate process of testing and learning.

What's Next: Big Beats

Gjorgiev revealed the next phase for Heroes of History, a concept he calls 'Big Beats'. This new model will move away from standalone, short-term events. Instead, it will introduce themed narrative arcs lasting four to eight weeks. The goal is to create a experience closer to a television series with distinct seasons, fostering longer-term player investment in the game's world.

Zoran Gjorgiev is scheduled to speak further on live operations at the PGC Nordics conference in October. More detailed insights from his work on Heroes of History are expected then.