The Mobile Game Monetization Guide
The Mobile Game Monetization Guide
When it comes to building a mobile game, one of the most critical elements to consider is revenue. Building and maintaining a game requires a lot of money, time, and effort, so you'll need to figure out how to generate money off of it, not just to pay your costs but also to make a profit.
There are numerous ways to do it, and the key is to choose a model that works for you. It'll take some time and patience on your part, but once it works, IT WORKS!
What is Mobile Game Monetization?
The method of making money from your mobile games is known as mobile game monetization. Years ago, the options for monetizing mobile games were either a free app with adverts or a paid app. However, since then, the market has evolved dramatically, and new worlds have emerged.
Why Mobile Game Monetization?
Obviously, the ultimate goal of any mobile game creator is to make money, and mobile game monetization will assist you in this endeavour.
Planning For Mobile Game Monetization
Many creators concentrate on turning their concept into a game and do not consider monetization till the end. I don't think I need to inform you that this is incorrect. You should plan your mobile game monetization from the start, while you're sketching out your game's roadmap, and it should be a top priority.
Keep in mind that the mobile game monetization model you choose will likely determine many parts of your game, including many features and game tactics. As a result, you must incorporate it in your early development planning to ensure that your game and monetization model function well together and complement one another.
Mobile Game Monetization Models
Free Vs. Paid Games
When your game is finished and ready to be released, one of the most important decisions you'll have to make is whether to make it a free or paid game. It's a trade-off that requires careful consideration.
Paid applications may help you generate cash in the short term, but free apps may help you attract more users and generate more revenue in the long run through in-game adverts and purchases. If, as previously indicated, you planned your mobile game monetization model ahead of time and structured your game around it, this shouldn't be too tough.
Only three premium games are now in the top 200 in the app store. However, you should not feel obligated to make your game free by default since, after all, if your game is excellent enough that people are ready to pay for it, why not?
Advertisements within the app Mobile consumers are much more likely to click on advertising in a mobile app than on a mobile website, according to InMobi. The average click-through rate (CTR) of in-app advertising supplied globally, which accounted for 80% of impressions, was nearly 2.8x greater than that of mobile web ads. In-app ads also had an eCPM approximately 2.5 times that of mobile web ads.
AD NETWORKS
Ad networks connect your game to massive databases of advertising, allowing advertisers to reach their ideal target audience while also allowing you to profit from the connection. There are numerous ad networks for mobile games and apps; here are a few of the most popular.
ADS TYPES
You can have a variety of ad types delivered and displayed based on your game. Here are a few instances.
Direct Ads: Ads based on sponsorship agreements or cross-promotion of your game across multiple games or platforms.
Banner Ads: Relevant text and image ads that appear at the top or bottom of the screen.
Ads incorporating video, audio, or other components that encourage viewers to interact and engage with the content are known as rich media ads.
Native Ads: Ads that are integrated into the user interface of a mobile game so that the ad experience matches the user's natural form and function in the environment in which it is put.
Ads that are supplied in exchange for a user's impressions or clicks are known as reward ads.
Freemium/In-App Purchases
Freemium games are games that you can download and play for free but that have paid in-app purchases that give you an advantage in the game. In-app purchases account for roughly 70-80 percent of the $10 billion or more in iOS revenue each year, according to the freemium model, which is the most extensively used in mobile game monetization.
You can now customise in-app purchases in the Apple app store by adding display names, descriptions, and promotional images for each. You may also promote up to 20 of them on your product page so that visitors can look at them and buy them without having to download the app.
Another option is subscriptions, which are payments made on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, or annually) in exchange for more features, privileges, or even the ability to use the app without advertisements. They're now divided into two sections on the product page, which are treated differently than in-app purchases. In-app purchases can now be found in search results, the Games and Apps tabs, and even the Today page.
Rewarded Surveys
Why should you use rewarded surveys as part of your game monetisation strategy?
Rewarded Surveys are becoming more popular as a way to monetize mobile games, but there is relatively little information and statistics available about them.
This article is a primer on everything you need to know as an app developer or publisher. It will give you some history on the market research sector as well as performance data and other critical elements to keep you updated about Rewarded Surveys.
Rewarded Surveys provide game producers with a significant cash possibility. The economics are based on a cost-per-action (CPA) model, in which developers get compensated for each completed survey (CPA). Developers determine how much virtual currency to reward based on their economy, and payouts range from $1 to $10+ every completed task.
RapidoReach is a mobile app SDK that delivers the market research sector to your app. With a platform that understands game dynamics and in-game virtual economies, We make it simple for traditional Research Buyers to distribute mobile surveys in F2P games - we call these Rewarded Surveys.
Read: Rewarded Surveys for your Monetization Strategy
Things to consider while integrating Mobile Rewarded Surveys
Sponsorship (Incentivized Advertising)
Sponsorship is perhaps the newest newcomer in the mobile market of all the app business methods described in this piece. Sponsorship requires forming a partnership with marketers who reward your users for doing specific in-app actions. Brands and agencies pay to be a part of an incentive system in this arrangement. Your app makes money by collecting a cut of the revenue from rewards that are redeemed. This allows you to include advertising in your app, which will improve its capacity to engage users.
RunKeeper was an early adopter of this app business model. RunKeeper employs incentivized advertising to encourage users to use their app to log their running activity and get unique rewards and promotions. This method allows RunKeeper to monetise their app without interfering with the user's experience.
Pros of sponsorship
- Innovative app business concept that may be applied to a variety of industries
- Because it is relevant and related to the app's goal, this advertising technique is more likely to be well received by app users.
- App developers and marketers profit, advertisers gain more ad space, and consumers gain access to free offers.
- This type of marketing can be customised to fit your app's conversion funnels.
Cons of sponsorship
- When it comes to encouraging actions within an app, mobile marketers must be cautious (Apple has been cracking down on incentivizing downloads and social sharing)
- This app's business strategy hasn't been explored and tested as completely as others (results and success may vary)
Which Model Is The Best?
Again, there is no one-size-fits-all answer because it all depends on your particular game. In-app purchases generate the greatest income in mobile games and apps, according to statistics, but if it doesn't make sense for your game, don't force it.
Furthermore, many mobile games mix and match diverse strategies (e.g. offer rewards for money as in-store purchases or for free in exchange for watching a video ad). So that's something you should think about.
In Conclusion
Finally, while mobile game monetization is a great cash mine, you don't want to go overboard. Your goal may be to maximise revenue, but putting too many adverts in your game and turning everything into in-app purchases will have the opposite effect. Users will be turned off by the game and will remove it as soon as possible.
So make sure to keep user retention in mind while you experiment with different tactics, measure, optimise, and repeat.
Final Thoughts on Monetization Trends in Mobile Games
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of how to monetise your mobile game successfully in 2022.
We'd like to hear from you now.
In 2022, what do you believe the largest mobile game monetization trend will be? Is there anything we missed?
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About RapidoReach
Since 2019 until today, RapidoReach has reached 10 million+ users for mobile apps & games. We’re recognized as a leading rewarded survey monetization solution by major market research firms. We helped many mobile apps & game developers reach the top charts. Want to know how we make it look so effortless? Contact us to find out!
