How DoDreams Scaled Drive Ahead! to 250 Million Players using Metaplay

DoDreams is a Helsinki-based game studio with a mission to create games that bring people together through chaotic, over-the-top fun. Founded in 2008, the studio is best known for Drive Ahead!, a multiplayer car-battling game where players crash and compete in fast-paced arena matches. 

Drive Ahead! has become one of the most enduring success stories in mobile gaming. With over 250 million organic downloads and more than a decade of updates, the game has evolved from a local offline experience into a global multiplayer phenomenon.

Keep reading to learn how Metaplay helps DoDreams operate and scale Drive Ahead! as a fully live game, powering everything from feature delivery and LiveOps to segmentation, automation, and player support.

Transforming Drive Ahead! From an Offline Title to a Global Live Game

When Drive Ahead! first launched, everything from new content to balance tweaks had to go through the app store release cycle. Each update was tied to a new build, which slowed down development and limited how quickly the team could respond to players. As the game’s audience grew, that old model began to show its limits.

Migrating to Metaplay marked a turning point. Suddenly, the team at DoDreams could treat Drive Ahead! as a living product. Updates no longer meant waiting weeks for approvals or bundling features into massive releases. Using Metaplay’s LiveOps Dashboard, they began delivering content on their own schedule, iterating faster, and fixing issues on the fly.

What made this possible was more than just a dashboard. It was the flexibility of Metaplay’s systems, especially its game config system. By moving configurations like event logic and reward structures out of the codebase and into external tools like Google Sheets, the team at DoDreams could make changes quickly and safely.

This setup reduced development friction and gave them room to experiment. Features like the real-time multiplayer mode Friendzone were rolled out on tight timelines without compromising stability, speed, or creativity.

To further support this pace, DoDreams relies on Metaplay’s QA testing and automation tools. The Metaplay SDK’s BotClient simulates heavy player load, allowing the team to validate new content at scale before it goes live. This ensures smooth launches and keeps the player experience consistent, even as the game evolves rapidly behind the scenes.

Personalizing the Experience for Millions of Players Around the World

As Drive Ahead! scaled to millions of players across dozens of markets, delivering the same experience to everyone no longer made sense. Players in different regions responded to different themes, played at different times, and expected content that felt relevant to them.

With Metaplay, DoDreams was able to adapt. Using the LiveOps Dashboard’s flexible segmentation tools, the team could define precise audience groups and tailor experiences to each one. A player in the Middle East might see a Ramadan-themed event, while someone in the US would get a Thanksgiving challenge at the exact same time. These experiences felt timely and personal, even though they were managed from a single toolset.

Metaplay’s segmentation features are fully integrated in the LiveOps Dashboard, which makes it easy for teams to track what content is being shown to which players, and how each group is engaging. This visibility helps the team fine-tune their content strategy and double down on what works.

Increasing LTV Through Better Communication with Players

As the mobile gaming landscape has shifted to a post-IDFA era, the team at DoDreams has placed greater emphasis on retention and player lifetime value. Engaging players over time requires timely, relevant communication, and Metaplay provides the tools to make that possible.

Through the LiveOps dashboard, the team can track player progression and send personalized messages directly to the in-game inbox. These messages often include useful attachments like resources or rewards and are designed to acknowledge key moments in the player journey. The result is a more connected, responsive experience that keeps players coming back.

Everything runs through one unified system. There’s no need for additional tooling or external integrations, which allows the team to focus fully on the player experience and act quickly when it matters most.

Metaplay has allowed us to scale the Drive Ahead! game and brand much faster than we otherwise could have. With our tech completely handled, we can focus solely on making our game better and our players happier - which is great for our growth.

Erik Pöntiskoski, CEO at DoDreams

Conclusion: Supporting DoDreams as They Grow Drive Ahead! Into a Live Games Powerhouse

Metaplay has been a key partner in helping DoDreams scale Drive Ahead! into a globally successful live game. By offering a complete game management platform, covering LiveOps, player support, content delivery, and configuration, Metaplay gives the team the tools they need to move fast, experiment safely, and deliver a consistently high-quality experience at scale.

With flexible systems, full visibility into player behavior, and workflows designed for modern live game operations, Metaplay has enabled DoDreams to scale Drive Ahead! without growing operational complexity. The team can focus on what they do best: building content, launching new features, and keeping their players entertained.

As Drive Ahead! continues to evolve, Metaplay will remain a trusted part of that journey, helping DoDreams adapt quickly and keep delivering for their players.

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