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Mobile gaming has exploded into a billion-dollar industry, making effective monetization strategies more important than ever. Mobile game monetization involves using techniques to generate revenue through in-game purchases or currency bought with real money. For developers, the challenge isn’t attracting players – millions of people play these games daily. The real challenge is finding ways to make money from these games while keeping the player experience enjoyable and seamless.
Based on Newzoo Global Games Market Report the mobile segment accounts for almost half of the global market in 2023.
F2P games have only strengthened this, but players will happily pry open their wallets for a premium DLC that is more than worth it if building with something substantial and injecting some real meat into the game. If done right, monetization is the merge of the totality between paying services and free products in a way that never seems disruptive but natural. We don’t want to discourage people from playing our games. In addition to monetization, learning how to promote your mobile game effectively is crucial for reaching a broader audience and maximizing revenue potential. This blog article aims to discuss the differences in mobile games monetization models and strategies so that developers can get a clearer picture of how they should streamline their revenue streams through 2024.
Wondering what is mobile game monetization? It is the process of making money in games by engaging you with them via a variety of means, including purchases within the game and ads.
Only those that prioritize giving invaluable player experience with a vast base of premium in-app content, along with elegant monetization engagement strategies are the ones living through long-term survival and financial success.
Utilizing direct sales or more subversive buy-offs — however you do it, the goal is to get paid so that people playing the game can afford not to impair any serious adjustments in gameplay. The monetization method may be the in-app purchase, advertisements within the game or premium content, or even sub-classing subscription services and special event offers for elite players. Another effective method to generate revenue is by creating promotional games for businesses, which can engage customers and build brand awareness, boost retention and increase recurring sales.
However, getting the right balance with this is normally the most challenging part of monetizing mobile games because players need to be immersed but not dictated. The current age of gamers has repeatedly proved that there is more than enough money to be spent when they see value in an expense. This is why many proven methods are centered on delivering something physical to the player through improved gameplay, exclusive in-game items, or faster leveling.
Game monetization strategies are most effective when they make a good game even better, resulting in more people loving their favorite video games and being willing to purchase additional content or merchandise because the content has improved. At the end of the day, mobile gaming is a profitable business, but it comes down to sparking interest while providing value for gamers.
Did You Know? With an option to choose sponsored ads in return for rewards, such games often deliver more engaged players. The players can improve their game session while the developers make money — all without annoying as it lets players watch a valuable in-game reward-giving video, having no impact on gameplay. From the side of players and developers, this is a win-win solution!
For developers targeting long-tail revenue, it is critical to have a firm understanding of what good looks like in terms of monetizing your game without diminishing the enjoyment factor for players. Developers have used various techniques most suitable for different types and styles of games suited to player preference.
In-game purchases are one of the most common methods, allowing players to purchase items like cosmetics or power-ups (or even more content). This method is great for free-to-play games, meaning the base game doesn’t cost anything to play, and additional content is available on a pay-to-get basis. To ensure you’re on the right track, it’s always helpful to refer to a game designing checklist that outlines critical steps and considerations throughout the development process.
Developers can choose from various ad formats, including banner ads, interstitials, and rewarded video ads. Rewarded ads, which are opt-in and provide in-game rewards to players who watch them voluntarily, prove particularly successful because they allow the game flow to continue uninterrupted while giving incentives for the user to interact with advertisements.
Monetization in mobile games is all about making sure you have your revenue-maximizing strategy in place, which complements and aligns well with what players expect within a game’s design. Success is being able to give a good gameplay experience and still monetize the game without making it feel like you are punishing your player for playing. Developers can monetize the game they spent years creating while hanging on to as many players as possible by using some of these strategies.
For those unfamiliar, F2P stands for Free-To-Play, which means that you can download and play the game at no cost to you. However, more often than not, a title or app will offer options where additional content may be purchased, such as in-game cosmetics, power-ups, or extra levels. This not only boosts income but it also allows the player to decide how much they want to play
A person who has developed a game needs to generate revenue from it while the player should also engage well with it. That is where several game monetization models come in. These are essentially how developers earn money for their games and keep interacting. They are tailored to suit various game genres and player profiles; thus, you have to choose the one that fits both your game-oriented features and your player group.
A clear mobile monetization definition involves utilizing techniques such as in-game purchases, ads, or premium content to maximize earnings without diminishing the player experience. Below, we explore the best mobile game monetization models and ways developers can use them to effectively monetize their games.
The Free-to-Play (F2P) model is one of the most prevalent and effective approaches in monetizing mobile games, where users can download and play a game at no cost, although with in-app purchases available. They may be cosmetic, like player skins and costumes that offer a personalized experience for players, or functional, such as power-ups or content to enhance the user’s gameplay.
The in-game shop provides a variety of options for players. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the Checkmate or Die game by Chess.com
The key to the F2P model is ensuring players remain invested by providing plenty of free content while keeping expensive features in-game tempting. Developers should refrain from cash-grabbing customers through a “pay-to-win” experience and ideally avoid creating environments where paying players have that much of an impact so as not to annoy non-paying ones into abandoning the game.
There are also in-game purchases, which come in a variety of types. There are consumables: items such as lives or energy that you use once and are gone afterward (which leads to spending more). In contrast, non-consumable items provide long-term value to the player (e.g., unlocking characters or removing ads). In addition, a number of games provide subscription models (where users pay monthly or yearly content in exchange for exclusive features and benefits) to maintain an ongoing revenue stream.
Another highly effective mobile game monetization strategy is surely in-game advertising. A few examples can be small banner ads shown either at the top or bottom of a screen, often between two buttons; interstitial ads that will fill out the entire screen after one level is over and the movie has been seen (often they are skippable); rewarded ad where users opt-in to watch an add in return for some in-game currency.
If you’re wondering how to monetize games effectively, combine in-app purchases and ads that do not disturb the user. In-game advertising can be incredibly lucrative, but ideally must be executed with a mind paid not to disrupt the user experience. The way for ads can frustrate the players, and it means that they want to say goodbye.
To learn how to monetize a game, think about implementing different revenue streams, such as in-game ads, sales, or subscription models. An even more significant portion of users engage with rewarded ads, which makes sense since they are, by definition, watched voluntarily in exchange for something within the game. This creates a more positive bond with the advertising and makes engaging easier.
Membership with premium features and more content designs. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the Chess Adventure game by Chess.com
Learning how to monetize games involves using strategies like subscriptions. The player can often subscribe to his or her favorite title with monthly premiums that yield exclusive content, features, and sometimes bonuses. These may include premium access, season passes, or content subscriptions, which provide users with more levels, skins, and characters.
The subscription model has become increasingly popular in mobile games monetization. The significant benefit of the subscription model is the recurring revenue stream. Instead of relying on one-time buys, developers could potentially more reliably bank on guaranteed frequent purchases by the players who play a game. But essential for its survival is to offer enough value to justify the cost of this subscription.
Mobile games monetization involves using strategies like paid games, in-app purchases, and ads to generate revenue while keeping players engaged. The Free-to-Play model is still the king in mobile gaming, but some developers prefer to focus on paid games. In this model, users pay a one-time fee for downloading and playing the game without any additional IAPs or advertisements.
Although this model can produce a high income right from the start, it also caps off future earnings. Fewer people will pay upfront for a mobile game you see, and paid games, on the whole, tend not to be so popular due to many simply being unwilling to have shelled out some of their hard-earned money ahead of time when they expect similar experiences for nothing.
This monetizing model combines different ways to earn money to provide more opportunities for earnings. This usually means the game will be free to play with in-game ads and an option to buy things via IAP. By doing so, devs can better serve more potential players and increase their overall revenue.
In-game purchases using real money may be mixed using other currencies, such as crypto tokens. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the NFT Islands mobile game.
Having a hybrid model also allows you to pivot into different player segments. Tentpole viewers have passed the point of ad conversion, but they may drop cash on in-app purchases or access to exclusive content.
Game monetization strategy is a critical part of the success or failure of a mobile game. Developers already know that in the incredibly competitive mobile gaming marketplace, balancing player engagement with monetization has never been more important.
Its great exercises upgrade the gaming delight at an indistinguishable time by enabling clients with charming substance material or focal points on the way to entice them to surrender money. With 2024 around the corner, here are a few adaptations that developers can use to improve their mobile game monetization models.
Monetization in games is decisive for revenue being generated by notifications, purchases inside the game or rewards and events. They have a strong potential to push your audience in the right manner of monetization. Developers must prompt players to sign into the game more often and spend more hours in-game with special events, promotions, or limited-time offer nudges. However, just like notification, it is important not to over-notify your players. Otherwise, they get annoyed and leave.
With thousands of games competing for conspicuity in the marketplace, push notifications have an outbreak potential. There are so many options available to us in terms of what we play and when once games have been released for a bit if the care-worthiness is spent quicker than champagne at an open bar (after someone has already drowned their sorrows with far too much whiskey), they fall out of peoples’ brain pans faster.
Push notifications can rekindle that flame in small taps by telling the players an event has launched, a deal is on, or a feature update to get them back onto the app, respectively. Any of them who do return and re-engage in the game will also result in greater time spent inside the title (and a well-matched percentage or more sinks back on spending into its in-game purchases/ or premium content again).
Monetization strategies for mobile games often include daily rewards. As it stands, there may not be a more potent tool for player retention and engagement than these time-gated rewards. A company can use various methods to achieve this, such as giving small incentives (in-game currency or exclusive items), and drawing prizes every month/bi-month, including limited-time content, which is only available during that timeframe. This leads to the acquisition of a habit, which will most certainly include returning to play daily, increasing that much more interaction with possible monetization in-app purchases or ads.
7-day daily rewards feature with longer term rewards. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the Playcrowd game.
They provide that positive game-like feedback loop between the player and developer. This, in turn, makes free in-game rewards received for the simple act of logging into the game a much-welcomed gift and thus motivates players to keep on playing.
Daily 7-day rewards feature that is only given out if you log in to the game every day. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the Slots World mobile game.
The more these bonuses are expected, the better part of a routine they become in bringing players back every day. For developers, such habitual engagement keeps the game live, instantly raising the probability of a player making an in-app purchase or interacting with other revenue-generating pieces.
Changing up events for specific times of the year and offers in-game is another big hitter regarding encouraging spending. Flash sales cause players to rush out and make purchases they otherwise would not have made. Earning exclusive content through event-based skins, characters, or bonuses drives player engagement and monetization to sky-high rates.
If you’re exploring how to monetize your game, tweening in-app purchases that players will purchase and introducing rewarded ads is a great start. However, one of the most complicated and controversial techniques for monetization has been using loot boxes or gacha systems, which have become increasingly widespread in recent years. There, players shell out real cash to grab randomized rewards that could be anything from rare in-game items and exclusive characters up to most-wanted cosmetic upgrades.
A system of passes and loot boxes with sequential accumulation of results and a limited time of action. Designed and built by Fgfactory for the Battle Legende mobile game.
Loot boxes and gacha systems have become popular in video game monetization. These systems have proven to be incredibly profitable as players are drawn in by the “chance” aspect and often buy again and again, hoping for that one lucky roll. This adds a new layer of the psychological aspect; in much the same way as gambling, the excitement from maybe getting something really rare can convince players to spend large amounts.
The right game monetization strategy involves content bundling. This method consists of selling a bundle at a lower price that contains multiple in-game items, game features, or advantages. People get more value out of their money with this practice, and psychologists have confirmed that bundles almost always result in increased purchase volume. Bundles make gamers more inclined to purchase as they provide better value than buying each piece separately.
Effective monetization in mobile games requires a balance between free content and premium features or ads that do not interfere with the gameplay experience. Time-based unlocks and cooldowns introduce urgency to the game by offering special content and features that will disappear once limited offers have expired. However, it may not be uncommon for a player to purchase when he knows the item is about to become extinct soon.
Time-based unlocks, and cooldowns have the creation of scarcity as their essence. The provision of timed exclusive content makes players feel anxious. Making sure to get everything (often called FOMO) drives people. It’s much more likely to see players purchasing premium currency or using their collected resources in a game that offers something no other title can (at least for some time) as quickly and efficiently as possible to program them into opportunities like the next levels of crystal-clear backgrounds.
For an effective mobile game monetization strategy, social sharing is more than just one way. Since it is a win-win situation for developers and players, you can encourage users to share their game achievements or stoneage with their friends. Social elements are powerful tools that developers can use to encourage word-of-mouth through which the game will be exposed and then acquired by players, rewarding current users for being active.
When players take to social media platforms like Twitter, they proudly share all their victories and achievements – be it progress in-game or a rare item unlocked, details of the high score achieved. That further strengthens the bond of your game and introduces it to their friends, followers, or fellow gamers. Every post shared becomes an organic advertisement and helps to share the game further afield than any traditional marketing budget can afford.
Collaborations with brands can offer unique video game monetization opportunities. Some successful partnerships have come in crossovers with high-profile franchises, celebrities, or other popular games, providing players with exclusive in-game items and experiences. In addition to player engagements, these collaborations facilitate routes for fresh sources of revenue as well.
Pro Tip: To understand how to monetize a mobile game, consider using a mix of in-app purchases, rewarded ads, and premium content for optimal revenue generation. Whether in-game purchases, free this, or paid that- always strike a balance between the two. There is a greater likelihood that people will spend money if they do not feel like it’s being shoved in their faces and required to be able to play the game. Avoid any pay-to-win mechanisms and offer cosmetic updates or exclusive content that makes the experience better. You keep your player base happy, and you collect money!
Wondering what is game monetization? It involves turning player engagement into profit by offering paid features, ads, or subscription options. In-game purchases, for example, provide players with the opportunity to customize their experience or gain access to exclusive content, while ads — when used sparingly and thoughtfully — can be an unobtrusive way to generate additional revenue.
Picking the best monetization strategies for mobile games is important for driving revenue without disrupting players. This can be in the form of app purchases, ad displays, or waiting for a free download, and it is important to find out how much time you spend making reasonable profits without making users bored with ads. Subscription models, on the other hand, provide a stream of consistent and repeatable income while keeping high-loyalty customers engaged over seasons.
The definition of mobile monetization encompasses methods developers use to earn income from mobile apps, including advertising, microtransactions, and premium services. Market trends change, and developers should always experiment to understand what works best to stay ahead of their competition. All monetization models should be considered thoroughly. This frustrates gamers and leads to low engagement rates, resulting in negative feedback and a loss of trust.
At Fgfactory, we specialize in providing game development services and implementing effective gamified marketing solutions. A team with years of experience in the industry, we are familiar with and acquainted enough to understand how best you should approach creating mobile games that not only engage people but also make sure they bring down at least some money for you.
Whether through in-game purchases, ad integration, subscription models, or a hybrid approach, we know how to tailor these solutions to fit the unique needs of your game and target audience. Our team goes back and forth with the client for weeks (and sometimes months) to understand what they want so that we can develop models never seen before in gameplay and user expectations.
From concept to execution, we ensure that every aspect of your game, including its revenue model, is optimized for success. If you need a partner to help you build or optimize the best game monetization business model, we will be happy to assist.
Reach out to us today for consultations and project execution. We can make a game with high engagement and profitability together!
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