Monetization reports and market data
2,341 documents·112 writers·10,483 charts and tables
Documents
GameMakers58 min
BattlePass Game Design: Q&A With Top F2P Designers and Product Execs
Battle Pass systems function most effectively as engagement and retention mechanisms rather than standalone monetization drivers.
- Battle Pass systems function primarily as engagement and retention tools rather than standalone monetization drivers, requiring a sound core game economy to be effective.
- Developers should target a 70% completion rate for the Battle Pass, as players who finish the progression track show a significantly higher propensity to purchase future iterations.
- Strategic pacing should prioritize accessible early rewards to build player habits, while reserving high-value chase items for the final stages of the progression cycle.
GameMakersJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz50 min
Panel: When is the Right Time to Start Thinking, Testing & Delivering Live Ops? PGCD#2
The transition from traditional, static game development to a service-oriented model is essential for long-term commercial viability in the modern gaming industry.
- Live Ops should be integrated into the development process as early as possible, ideally during the pre-launch and soft-launch phases, to effectively balance game economies and validate lifetime value assumptions.
- Automation is essential for effective Live Ops, as it frees up team capacity to focus on new content and sophisticated, personalized player experiences rather than repetitive manual tasks.
- Game developers should treat their titles as 'nightclubs' that require constant management and engagement rather than one-off 'rockstar performances' that end at launch.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz49 min
Panel: What Do You Do in the Inevitable Decline of Ad Revenue? PG Connects Digital #2
The gaming industry remains fundamentally resilient, often maintaining stability during broader economic downturns due to the accessible nature of digital entertainment.
- Diversify revenue streams by combining ad-based models with in-app purchases to capture value from the majority of non-paying users.
- Avoid reactive increases in ad frequency during performance dips, as this degrades user experience and triggers algorithmic penalties.
- Prioritize long-term retention and high-quality content over short-term revenue extraction to capitalize on the expanded player base created by recent global consumption shifts.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz47 min
Panel: How Can Monetisation Make Your Game More Fun? PG Connects Digital #2
Monetization serves as a fundamental component of game design that, when executed with precision, enhances rather than detracts from the player experience.
- Monetization should be integrated during the early design phase to ensure revenue strategies function as an extension of the gameplay loop rather than an intrusive obstacle.
- Developers should utilize hybrid monetization models, such as battle passes, subscriptions, and rewarded video systems, to tailor experiences to specific genres and player segments.
- To prevent user burnout and content depletion, developers must implement disciplined ad frequency capping and place advertisements only within positive gameplay contexts.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz31 min
Keynote: Hybrid Monetisation Deserves a Hybrid Investment Strategy / Supercharge Your Instant Games
Facebook’s Instant Games platform currently serves a global audience of over 700 million players, leveraging HTML5 technology to facilitate seamless social gaming experiences within the Facebook and Messenger ecosystems.
- Adopting a hybrid monetization model that combines in-app purchases with in-app advertising is now standard, with over 50% of developers utilizing this approach and 89% of top-performing titles integrating ad SDKs.
- Transitioning to a hybrid investment strategy—balancing mobile app installs, app event optimization, and value optimization—can drive a 50% increase in installs and a 60% boost in day-two retention.
- Facebook’s Instant Games platform currently reaches over 700 million players globally using HTML5 technology within the Facebook and Messenger ecosystems.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz26 min
Superstar Session: Bold Predictions for H2 2020 PG Connects Digital #2
This session from the June 2020 Pocket Gamer Connects Digital event analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobile gaming industry and provides projections for the second half of 2020.
- The initial COVID-19 lockdown period triggered a massive surge in mobile gaming, characterized by a 10% to 70% increase in device usage and a peak of 1.2 billion weekly game downloads.
- The second half of 2020 is expected to see rising customer acquisition costs and eCPMs due to a high volume of postponed game releases and a record number of titles currently in soft launch.
- While hyper-casual games saw a slight decline as restrictions eased, mid-core and hardcore titles experienced substantial growth, bolstered by increased engagement and the rise of streaming.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
GameMakers43 min
Battle Pass Game Design: Engagement to Monetization
Battle passes function primarily as sophisticated engagement mechanisms rather than standalone revenue engines.
- Battle passes function primarily as engagement and retention tools rather than standalone revenue engines, as they lack the recurring spending mechanics required for primary monetization.
- Developers should transition from passive reward tracks to active monetization drivers by designing progression hurdles that act as strategic stat checks, forcing players to acquire gear or characters to advance.
- Pricing strategies must be aggressive at launch because the rigid structure of battle passes makes it difficult to increase costs later without triggering significant player backlash.
GameMakersJul 2020
GameMakers51 min
Overwolf + TRN | How to be an In Game Creator?
The modern gaming landscape is increasingly defined by a robust creator economy where third-party developers build essential in-game applications and mods.
- Top in-game creators are now generating annual revenues exceeding $1.2 million by leveraging integrated monetization models like programmatic advertising and subscriptions.
- The ecosystem for third-party in-game applications supports over 5.5 million monthly active users and sees billions of annual mod downloads.
- Developers can build compliant, high-engagement in-game tools using Chromium-based frameworks that support standard web technologies like HTML and JavaScript.
GameMakersJul 2020
Game Developers Conference26 min
It's About Time: System Design for Mobile Free-to-Play
System design in mobile free-to-play games centers on the universal resource of time.
- System design in free-to-play games must be anchored in time as the universal resource, balancing player progression against energy limits, session frequency, and the time required to acquire content.
- Designers should establish a progression model by defining the desired time-to-level, then calculating the necessary daily payouts based on the number of sessions and actions a player performs.
- When tuning upgrade costs, a common formulaic approach is to increase costs by a fixed percentage—such as 250% per level—while rounding to larger increments to ensure the UI remains clean and readable.
Game Developers ConferenceJul 2020
Game Developers Conference64 min
Good Design Makes Happy Customers: A Microtransaction Design Primer
Effective microtransaction design hinges on prioritizing player value over immediate revenue extraction.
- Prioritize long-term player trust and perceived value over short-term revenue extraction to prevent the erosion of the player base.
- Integrate microtransactions as a core design system that supports Self-Determination Theory by fostering player autonomy, mastery, and relatedness.
- Avoid manipulative marketing and high-pressure tactics, as players perform rigorous value assessments that quickly identify and reject exploitative practices.
Game Developers ConferenceJul 2020
Report28 pages
Hyper Casual Gaming in 2020: Charting the Rise of a Blockbuster Genre
Hyper-casual gaming emerged as a dominant force in the global mobile market during 2020, fueled by a massive surge in consumer demand during early-year pandemic lockdowns.
- Between December 2019 and March 2020, global hyper-casual game installations more than doubled, with session counts increasing by 72%.
- The optimal monetization strategy for hyper-casual titles is two to three ads per minute, as exceeding four ads per minute causes a sharp decline in user retention.
- Hyper-casual games maintain the lowest cost-per-install metrics in the industry, enabling rapid scaling despite lower long-term retention compared to complex genres.
AdjustJul 2020
GameMakers38 min
Battle Pass | Supercell's Tale of 2 Cities: Clash of Clans vs. Clash Royale
The implementation of Battle Passes within the mobile gaming sector reveals that monetization success is inextricably linked to the underlying economic architecture of a title.
- A Battle Pass's effectiveness is determined by the game's underlying economic architecture rather than being a universal engagement tool.
- Clash of Clans successfully leverages a deep, scalable economy that requires constant investment across a broad spectrum of units, maintaining high Battle Pass value.
- Clash Royale’s rigid, card-based progression limits players to mastering a single deck, which reduces the perceived value of collecting new items through a Battle Pass.
GameMakersJun 2020