Skip to main content

How free-to-play games make money - FTNnews.com

Free-to-play online and downloadable games have transformed the video games industry.

Paradoxically, those games where no financial transaction whatsoever is required to start playing (and to continue playing to the end) now generate a bigger revenue for developers than games that are purchased in the traditional way. How can that be? The answer lies in the different ways that providers can monetize leisure experiences in the modern digital world.

A changing market

The entertainment market, which encompasses film, music, television, social media and comics as well as games, has grown massively over the last half-century. The amount of content competing for your attention is phenomenal, and it’s harder than ever for creators to convince you that their product is worth your time and money. Additionally, we’ve grown used to the idea that we can access much of this content online for free.

Play for free

Faced with a situation where competition is brutal, game developers have had to reinvent how they market and monetize their products. As NJ online casinos have found, games that are free to play and/or download are a much easier sell than a premium-priced boxed cartridge in a high street store. There’s no risk and you’ve nothing to lose, so why not give it a go?

Advertising

The most obvious way to make money from a free game is to sell advertising space. Advertising may be sold upfront for a one-off charge, or with the advertiser paying a small amount every time someone clicks on their ad, or even every time someone looks at it. These models are known as pay-per-click and pay-per-view, respectively.

Go premium

Another popular variant is to allow players to remove the ads in return for a fee. This may be part of a paid upgrade to a ‘premium experience’, which also includes extra content, or a stand-alone charge for ad-free gaming. This way, the developers use ads to make money from the advertisers and the players. If they haven’t been able to sell advertising space, they can create in-house ads, making them as annoying and intrusive as possible so that players will be more likely to pay to block them.

Micro-transactions

By far the most popular way of generating revenue from free-to-play games, however, is through micro-transactions. Players are continually given the option of purchasing items in-game that are not essential in terms of winning or losing, but will make the game more fun, or a little bit easier. These include cosmetic items that change a character’s appearance, or items such as weapons, or magical tools that unlock new levels.

Player base

Although less than 5% of players typically make these micro-transactions, the revenue generated more than makes up for the 95%+ playing for free. The majority of free players demonstrate the game’s popularity and ultimately bring in more players who are willing to spend money in-game.

Once you’ve built a player base through offering your game for free, it’s much easier to convince them to spend money on micro-transactions or premium upgrades. Even if the majority still continue to play without paying, the model of continuous small payments from a minority of players has proved much more profitable than asking for one large payment from everyone.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

These money and investing tips can give you a smooth ride in a rough market – MarketWatch

Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here  to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly! INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS How to approach rebalancing your portfolio for 2023 It’s not a good idea to rebalance your portfolio at preset intervals Read More Bonds aren’t more attractive than stocks even as yields register a 15-year high The S&P 500’s return is similar when the 10-year Treasury yield is high or low. Read More Here’s who’s been trading crypto, and how they’re doing A new study finds that most people who entered the cryptocurrency market have lost money — and that those people are young men. Read More BlackRock sees these thematic ETFs potentially outperforming in 2023 In this week’s ETF Wrap, MarketWatch spoke with BlackRock’s Jay Jacobs on investing themes he likes for 2023 as investors worry about a slowing economy and monetary tightening. Read More Three seasonal effects in the stock market begin around T...

Four months until SACSCOC visits Auburn: Four things you might not know about SACSCOC – Office of Communications and Marketing

Notice body There’s less than four months remaining until Auburn University’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACSCOC, arrives for its on-site visit. As the Accreditation team prepares for the on-site phase of the reaffirmation process, we want to share four things you might not know about SACSCOC: 1. SACSCOC is self-governed by the accredited institutions SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation requires a model of shared governance of its member institutions and holds itself to the same standards. The Commission on Colleges is operated by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. The 77 Board members are elected by the College Delegate Assembly, or CDA, which is comprised of one voting representative from each of the 780 SACSCOC-accredited institutions. Each representative is the president or other chief executive of their respective college or university. In other words, the election of SACSSCOC’s leadership is in the hands of its ...

5 YouTube features to use to boost engagement – Sprout Social

When you want to explore a new hobby or learn something new, where do you go? The answer is probably “YouTube.” The second-most popular social platform has come a long way since the “Charlie bit my finger” days. And new YouTube features are making it even more beneficial to marketers and creators—YouTube Shorts topped 1.5 billion monthly users in just two years. With 51% of consumers anticipating YouTube will be one of the social media platforms they use most this year, it’s a digital space your audience most likely uses. But with 500+ hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute, high popularity also means high competition. Whether you’re new to YouTube or conducting a YouTube audit , using some of these features can help you stay ahead, grow your audience and give your channels a boost. 5 free YouTube features you need to use more often To help your audience find your videos in YouTube and Google search alike, you need to use the right tools. From underused YouTube sear...