Video Game Monetization - Strategies to Maximize Your Profit

Considering the swirling popularity of video games, no doubt the gaming industry is a profit-making space. Video game development startup has turned every insightful entrepreneur's dream.

But when we talk about the gaming world, mobile game monetization strategies are becoming extremely crucial.

In today’s competitive landscape, game companies should ensure that the monetization strategies are a part of their execution plan from the first go. But why is it becoming an indispensable part of the game development process?

Your head is exploding with million-dollar video gaming ideas. You have given shape to your vision. But, video game development alone can not bring profits. So, how can you make money from your games?

The answer is video game monetization.

• As per the research of the Electronic Entertainment Design and Research institute, only 4% of video games turn a profit, and nearly 20% of titles successfully attain their places to store shelves. (CNET)

Shocking, isn't it?

Video game design and development require great effort indeed. You must blend your creativity and technical ability proportionately to create a fascinating video game. But, if your games fall on the ground repetitively, your creative soul will get frustrated, and your technical knowledge will get a question mark.

Stay calm. Your creativity and technical ability are exemplary. Your video games need more effective and beneficial monetization strategies. This post highlights the most beneficial monetization strategies and the sure-shot formulas for video game success.

Why Focusing on Video Game Monetization model is so Crucial?

Before digging into the trending and most influential video game monetization strategies, it seems wise to discuss the reasons for adopting monetization strategies so crucial. In discussing it, one must look at the video game market right now.

Revenue in the Video Games market is projected to reach US$334.00bn in 2023. (Statista)

• It is projected to grow by an Annual CAGR of 12.9% by 2030. (Grand View Research)
• Almost 79% of US gamers are adults. (Entertainment Software Association)
• The total number of gamers worldwide will reach 3.32 billion by 2024. (Exploding Topics)
• As of the third quarter of 2023, the number of available gaming apps in the Google Play Store was 490,267, up 2.57% as compared to the previous quarter. (Statista)

These mindboggling statistics clearly show that they will only get lost in the crowd if they implement effective video game monetization strategies, whether PC games or mobile games. So, fasten your seatbelt for a quick view of the effective monetizing ways of video games.

1. In-App Purchases

In-App purchases is one of the most used models when it comes to monetization of games. The fundamental principle behind the in-app purchase strategy is simple. Developers or game studios leave their games free to play.

Players need to purchase additional game features to enhance their gameplay. Most of the time, social games or mobile games follow in-game purchases.

While playing a game level, the users get stuck in the middle. They must purchase potions, armor, or other clues using their credits. The in-game purchase business model is popular around RPG games.

Now, this is what the conventional in-game purchase strategy looks like. The in-game purchase video game monetization strategy sounds effective. However, if you want to apply this kind of monetization strategy, you need to think carefully about how to include this in your game. Game designers must design their games by brilliantly putting the in-game purchase triggers in the middle of the gameplay.

Because how carefully and skillfully they create the game significantly influences the success and failure of in-game purchase business models.

What did you think? Is it easy to squeeze cash from the gameplay? Challenges are everywhere.

To make the in-game purchase strategy successful,

1. Designers have to input them within the game strategically
2. There should remain optimal pricing
3. Notify the gamers wisely

Related post: What Does it Make a Fascinating Storytelling in Video Games?

2. In-App Advertisement

For the past few years, in-app ad monetizing has been gaining popularity among game studios and individual gamers. In-app advertising involves three groups:

• Players enjoy playing games free of cost.
• Developers wish to earn money by displaying advertisements.
• Advertisers happily show their ads to seize potential new users.
• The in-app advertisement strategy applies to free-to-play video games.

Moreover, developers require a broader audience base to succeed in their in-game ad strategy.

In-app ads follow multiple advertising formats:

1. Interstitial ads
2. Rewarded ads
3. Playable ads
4. Native banners

But before you dive into in-app purchase video game monetization model, you must consider your video game genre and the possible efficacy of this strategy for your game. You can go for rewarded video ads and interstitials, as they are hitting popularity among gamers these days.

Most importantly, when you integrate in-app ads within your games, remember they must maintain the flow of the gameplay. Make them appear naturally in your game.

1. To make the in-app advertisement strategy successful,
2. Developers must pay attention to when ads should appear
3. Game studios and developers should integrate rewarded ads
4. They must consider better ad formats

Also read: Are AR and VR the New Normal in Marketing?

3. Subscriptions

What do Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify have in common?

They have embraced the subscription business model. The subscription model is applicable for video game monetization as well.

The subscription model is available with freemium mobile video games. Unless gamers purchase the subscription, they can not play the game. 

Subscription-based monetization model comes with a free trial. Auto-renewable subscriptions and non-renewable subscriptions are both available. Autonewable subscriptions get renewed automatically until the gamer cancels.

On the other hand, non-renewing subscriptions get manually renewed. Game studios must consider the following tips to make the subscription model a success:

1. Try to offer different kinds of subscription models
2. Try not to stick to any specific subscription model
3. Convince your targeted gamers about the benefits of a subscription
4. Engage your subscribers with missions, rewards, coupons, Etc.

Combining Video Game Monetization Strategies

Many times, a developer or a mobile game development company implement multiple video game monetization strategies to ensure the success of their video game development and marketing success.

They leverage various game monetizing models so that one strategy seems the primary and the rest of the models seem to follow it. Game developers call it hybrid monetization.

Hybrid monetization is a sure-shot way to ensure a video game's success. For instance, you are implementing in-app purchases and in-app advertisements altogether to monetize your video game. If an in-app purchase fails, the in-app ad will hit the profit.

Ending Note

Video game monetization is tricky. It depends on your video game or gaming genre and which monetization model will suit you best. Above all, keep your targeted audience engaged with your offerings.

Understand, what your gamers prefer, game add-ons, subscriptions, or something else? No matter what monetization model you choose, it should not affect our game user experience.