18 Nov Most popular ways to monetize desktop games

The production of video games is a very troublesome business that requires perseverance, experience, some knowledge, and a large investment of money. For example, to make the game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”, the studio had to spend more than $50 million. Another 150 million were attracted by website promotion services and advertising in computer games.

Some modern interactive video games cost companies half a billion dollars. It follows from this that making a video game costs the same as shooting a Hollywood blockbuster. 

There are several ways to monetize desktop games. We will discuss these methods in this article.

Retail and digital sales

The cost of the original disc with a new game has not changed for more than thirty years and is about $60. This is the average cost; there are also cheaper games.

Some developers move to Steam, where you do not need to buy a disc; an activation code is enough. The files themselves are downloaded from the Internet, so these games are cheaper. Steam is a rather “greedy” platform, as it takes up to 30% of the profits from sales. For example, the Epic Games Store only takes 12%.

Episode sales

As with the filming of various blockbusters, the release of the games is accompanied by multiple sequels. Old products are constantly reissued, improved, and remakes are made. For example, the seventh series of Resident Evil, the eleventh Dragon Quest, has already been released. This does not bother anyone; everyone is already used to it. With the development of technology, fans of different games are constantly waiting for new sequels.

Some games are divided into series, in other words – episodes. You pay part of the money; you go to travel the virtual world for several hours. However, in practice, many did not wait for the new episode’s release and forgot about the RPG. 

Advertising campaign in free games

Game monetization mainly depends on the platform used and the region where it is carried out. So, in some countries, they prefer PCs; in others, they prefer consoles; in some countries, piracy is widespread, so users refuse to pay at all.

Free games are mainly used on Android and iOS platforms. Developers can make money without investing only by placing different types of ads in applications and trading users’ personal data. Google banners pop up when a user receives an award, moves to a new level, and loses. Also, in some cases, bonuses or internal currency are given for viewing ads.

It doesn’t matter here whether the target audience has the means or not. The most important thing here is to reach as many people as possible.

Free-to-play

In this case, the concept of earning is similar to the previous model. The user is shown free of charge the capabilities that are available for the character. Gradually, the user gets carried away and imperceptibly spends not 20 or even 60 dollars, but how much money allows. There is no maximum on the amount deposited.

Features to pay for:

• Disable ads.
• Useful items that will help you save time on development become stronger, more agile, and learn some skills.
• Provision of internal currency, for which you can purchase various props and characters.
• Connecting a premium account. In this case, various privileges are given.
• Equipment, weapons, artifacts, and other items.

Subscription

The market for making money on games is constantly changing. The usual ways to monetize a product are gradually becoming a thing of the past. This is what happened with subscriptions, which are pretty common in multiplayer games. In the past, you had to purchase a disc and then pay every month to keep the developers on track for ongoing support and updates. These subscriptions include MMORPG games. When this strategy became outdated, the developers had to adapt.

Subscription services

They should not be confused with the previous earning model since completely different customer retention tools are used in this case. A subscription service is a paid multiplayer that is installed on consoles. For example, when you have a PS4 – if you play available games for a month, you will have to pay about $8. When the user wants to continue, they will need to pay again.

Recently, subscriptions such as Netflix have become popular. So, the Origin Access Premier service offers $ 15 to access games that have not yet had a premiere. You can also take advantage of a wide variety of discounts and take part in promotions. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service is also very successful.

Hybrid approach

Some companies combine various desktop software monetization tools in their games. So, in Overwatch, you don’t simply have to pay the full cost for a license, but you also need to buy loot boxes for development. In some RPGs, you also pay for the key once, but if you want to play on other cards, you need to buy them.

In some cases, developers periodically change from one business monetization model to another. It doesn’t end well. For example, the creators of Evolve made it a paid game. However, the level of purchases was minimal. Then they began to distribute shareware. As soon as a lot of users became interested in the product, the company made money and stopped supporting it.

If companies are rethinking their product monetization models, they are not doing well. Usually, developers think in advance about how they will earn: selling clothes, banner ads from Google, etc.