It is quite obvious that you can make money on mobile games, but not everyone understands how to monetize them in the most successful way. Below we provide several strategies for optimal monetization of mobile games.
What is game monetization?
Game monetization is a mechanism for making money from mobile games. The concept is simple, but its execution must be carefully planned. Therefore, when developing a game belgium phone number list it is important to choose the right monetization methods.
Two examples of monetization strategies
- Create tasks that, when completed, can give you free benefits.
- Show ads during natural breaks in the game.
To get the maximum income, you will need to invest time and effort into understanding which model is best to use and how to optimize the strategy for your audience.
How to monetize mobile games?
Mobile games come in many forms and, as a result, are monetized in many different ways. The range of mobile game monetization strategies is extremely wide, from free-to-play games that are monetized solely through advertising revenue, to games with in- app purchases , to games with a paid subscription. In this section, we will look at some of the models and the game genres in which they work best.
Mobile Game Monetization Models and Trends
Most developers take a multi-pronged approach to game monetization. They target multiple types of players and therefore use multiple revenue streams.
And why?
Each player is valuable, but some bring in more revenue than others. For example, women spend more money on in-app purchases than men. 60% of women play games every day, and 36% of them spend money on mobile games. Therefore, it is important to consider potential users and their interests when developing monetization methods.
Let’s look at the most popular and effective ways to monetize mobile games.
Ad-supported games
This monetization model is familiar to users who play casual mobile games. Users download the game for free, but during the game how to use text messages to collect debts? usually between levels or during other natural pauses, they are shown ads.
Types of Ad-Supported Games
- Rewarded video ads encourage users to interact with an ad in order to receive some kind of in-game reward (e.g. extra lives, exclusive content, etc.).
- Interactive (playable) advertising offers players a simplified version of a game that they can play before purchasing the full version. American agency experts consider interactive advertising to be the most effective advertising format .
This model is prevalent among hyper-casual and casual games, whose users are less willing to spend money on subscriptions or in-app content.
In the examples above, we see two different types of advertising used in the TangleMaster game. On the left screen, you see a small banner ad at the bottom. On the right screen, you see a video that advertises another game during a pause.
Free-to-play games
Under this model, players can download games and play them for free. But they can also make in-game purchases to unlock exclusive content, skip levels, or gain other benefits like more lives. This model is popular across a wide range of game types because it can easily be combined with advertising to generate additional revenue or used as a stepping stone to subscriptions.
Candy Crush is a casual match-3 game that, like many of its competitors, monetizes through in-game purchases. For example, players are often offered the chance to buy more lives or even upgrade the rewards they earn during the game.
Paid games
The idea behind paid games is simple: players must buy the game. For mobile games, this means players must pay to download the game to their phone. Download fees range from a nominal fee (e.g., $0.99) to a substantial fee (e.g., $15.99) for feature-rich games.
Most games use mixed monetization strategies to maximize revenue. For example, Ticket to Ride is a popular board game that now has its own app. Users have to pay to download the game, but it also has in-app purchases.
Subscription Games
The subscription monetization model is used in two variants. In the first case, the subscription is basically necessary for the game, and in the second case, it is issued to remove advertising. Let’s look at the three most popular types of subscriptions for mobile games.
Types of Subscription Games
- Individual subscriptions are a subscription to a specific game, usually on a monthly or yearly basis.
- Umbrella subscriptions are subscriptions that provide access to multiple games, either from one publisher or through a third party like Apple Arcade .
- Battle Pass subscriptions are subscriptions where players need to purchase a “battle pass” to earn rewards. Players must play and progress through the game to earn rewards over a certain period of time, which incentivizes them to play more often.
A General Look at Mobile Game Monetization
Monetization is an important aspect to consider before launching a gaming app. It is not enough for an app developer to think about how much revenue their mobile game can generate. Instead, they should ask themselves how monetization will improve the gaming experience. Ultimately, if the monetization method chosen makes the game more enjoyable fax database then the revenue will increase.
For more information on how to market and monetize gaming apps, check out Your Guide to Mobile Game Marketing in 2022: Essentials and Best Practices .
