Elena Bugakova

Product Lead / Studio Lead @ playducky.com

About

Product Leader | Live-Ops & Growth Specialist I specialise in maximising the commercial potential of gaming products through Live-Ops systems and data-backed growth strategies. My expertise spans 14 years, evolving from a hands-on Game Designer to a Publishing Producer for global hits and an Operational Lead for high-velocity studio unit. Core Expertise: Live-Ops Strategy: Designing and managing complex event calendars, segmented offer systems, and dynamic economy balancing to drive LTV and ARPU. Monetization Architecture: Expert in hybrid models (IAP + Ad-based), creating balance between aggressive revenue growth and player sentiment. Data-Informed Decision Making: Leveraging advanced analytics (Tableau, SQL, Python) to identify growth bottlenecks and validate product hypotheses. Notable impact through strategic audits and framework implementation: Idle Lumber Empire: Orchestrated a monetisation pivot that increased IAP revenue share from 20% to 50% and achieved a $5 RPD (Revenue Per Download) in the US. Legend of Slime: Engineered a new live-ops system, resulting in a +20% lift in ARPDAU. Gold and Goblins: Optimised ad-placement depth and RV (Rewarded Video) triggers, driving a +30% increase in Ad-based ARPU. Product Ownership & ROI: Full P&L accountability for studio unit. Recently launched a high-scale Telegram F2P title from zero to global release in 4 months. Currently the project in a stable "harvest" stage. Operational Excellence: Building cross-functional teams (10 people) and automating production through AI-driven pipelines, significantly reducing operational overhead for event and content production. Professional Journey: Head of Product / Publishing Producer (AppQuantum): Scaled the producing department and drove product strategy for top-tier Idle and Midcore titles. Co-Founder (ARPU.GURU): Built a consultancy focused on game design and monetization audits. Foundational GD: Mastered monetisation and engagement mechanics at Nival (Allods Online) and Game Insight. Open to: Senior Product / Head of Live-Ops / Product Director roles (Remote, Europe).

Country

Serbia

City

Belgrade

Industry

Information Technology & Services

Skill

PnL Management, Live-ops, Product Strategy, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Management, Team Leadership, Mobile Games, Game Design, Monetization, Product Management, Product Operations, Project Management, Разработка игр, Видеоигры, Игровой дизайн, Мобильные приложения, Управление проектами, Мобильные устройства, JIRA, Сценарии

Experience

Product Lead / Studio Lead

playducky.com

2024-9 - 2025-11 · 1 yr 3 mos

Full P&L and operational ownership of a studio unit. Built and led a cross-functional team of 10 (Engineering, Art, GD, Analytics) to launch a high-scale Telegram F2P title Zero to Launch: Shipped in production the product in 4 months Business Success: Reaching 4M total installs, moved to harvest stage at 200K DAU. Achieved full ROI; the project is currently in the "harvest" stage with stable profitability Product Performance: Maintained a remarkable ~60% D1 retention through a long-term F2P strategy (non-crypto focus) Operations: Automated event production and reporting via custom AI pipelines, significantly reducing operational overhead Growth: Worked with acquisition by identifying and testing high-value Telegram-specific marketing and retargeting channels

Head of Product

AppQuantum

2022-12 - 2024-9 · 1 yr 10 mos

Cyprus

Scaled the producing department and product strategy for a global portfolio ($400M+ revenue, 175M+ downloads). Team Leadership: Built and managed a team of 14 (6 Producers, 8 Assistant Producers). M&A & Strategy: Led product due diligence for 20+ external studios and established "Product Strategy" frameworks.

Publishing Producer

AppQuantum

2018-11 - 2022-12 · 4 yrs 2 mos

Strategic partner for external studios (Canada, Korea, Vietnam), driving products from launch to top-grossing hits. Lumber Empire: Orchestrated a pivot from Ads to IAP monetization: 10x Payer growth, IAP share 20% → 50%, US RPD $5. Moved game to live-ops stage, created and maintained live-ops schedule Gold and Goblins: Optimized monetization stack (+30% Ad ARPU) and introduced a "NoAds" offer (+50% Payer share). Legend of Slime: Engineered the Live-Ops and offer system, resulting in +20% ARPDAU in 6 months. Strategic Growth: Conducted update evaluations and roadmap optimization for Idle Light City (+25% LTV) and other portfolio titles.

СEO and Co-Founder

ARPU.GURU

2017-7 - 2018-11 · 1 yr 5 mos

Moscow, Moscow City, Russia

Founded and scaled a niche game-design consultancy and expert network. Expert Network: Built a vetted community of 200+ industry experts for on-demand product audits and consultancy. Business Development: Led end-to-end sales, client negotiations, and project management for game design and monetization audits. Product Impact: Delivered high-level game analyses and economy audits for external studios to improve their monetization metrics. Operations: Scaled the business from zero to a stable monthly turnover, managing all legal and financial aspects.

Lead Game Designer

Towards Mars!

2015-5 - 2017-6 · 2 yrs 2 mos

Moscow, Russia

Led the development of Chelsea FC Runner, ensuring product alignment with official brand guidelines. Metric Growth: Designed and integrated a competitive Leagues feature, which improved LTV by 30%. Live-Ops: Created the events schedule to drive long-term player engagement and monetisation IP Compliance: Delivered game content and features in strict accordance with the football club's license requirements.

Game Designer

Game Insight

2013 - 2016 · 3 yrs

Moscow

- Developed live-ops content updates, combining game design and narrative to drive engagement and monetisation in social F2P titles ("Warpstorm", "Love and Dragons", "Mystery Manor")