Pivoting Blitz to SaaS with Blitz Pro

Company: Blitz
Project: Blitz Pro – Premium Subscription Tier
Role: Product Strategy & Monetization Lead
Timeline: Launch Year
Focus Areas: SaaS Monetization, User Retention, Feature Expansion, Upsell Architecture

The Challenge

Blitz, historically dependent on ad revenue, needed a sustainable, diversified revenue stream that wouldn’t erode user experience. The goal: increase user lifetime value (LTV) without increasing friction—and unlock scalable monetization through a product-first approach.

The Strategy

I developed Blitz Pro, a premium subscription model offering:

• Ad-free gameplay enhancement

• Expanded insights and advanced analytics

• Feature amplification tailored to each supported game

Crucially, Blitz Pro wasn’t gated behind paywalls. Instead, it supercharged each game’s most-used features, ensuring every upgrade felt like a natural next step—not a hard sell.

To ensure growth across all supported titles, Pro was built with a modular architecture, enabling easy feature mapping across game verticals.

The Upsell Model

Borrowing from the Spotify playbook, I optimized for conversion after usage. Users entered through a free tier and encountered contextual upsells only when they were actively engaging with relevant features. This kept the experience intuitive and user-first.

No splash screens. No banners. Just smart in-app nudges at moments of peak value realization.

Results & Outcomes

• SaaS revenue stream established, reducing reliance on ads

• 15% MoM adoption rate, driven entirely by in-product CTA (no paid media)

• Scaled across 6 product teams using a unified subscription architecture

• Framework built for feature gating, AB testing, and churn win-backs

• SaaS roadmap launched, with extensibility across future game titles