In today’s world, mobile is inevitable. One of the major purposes that a mobile serves is entertainment, particularly through mobile games. There has been a radical increase in the number of people who are interested in mobile games, especially after the 2-year pandemic. Given the active user base, there is a huge scope for earning revenue through mobile games with minimal investment from developers or brand owners. All you need is a robust mobile attribution tracking partner, like Apptrove Mobile Measurement Partner, and your gaming app is ready to mint dollars by the minute through numerous in-app ad campaigns, subscriptions, or purchases. Sounds exciting, right? In what follows we take a macroscopic view of mobile game monetization strategies - with special focus on the mobile game business models, and practices to follow while setting up your app for revenue growth. So, let’s dive right in!

The Art Of Money-Making Through Games

Mobile game monetization refers to the process of earning revenue through mobile games. It involves a series of campaigns and in-app events that are integrated into the user experience to promote financial investments from the users in exchange for value benefits. While it may not be ideal to monetize a newly released gaming app, developers of popular, trending or essential apps can make the most of game monetization strategies. As imperative, different strategies are needed at different stages of app marketing, and in what follows, we outline a few of them.

Cashing on Experience: Types Of Game Monetization Methods

Mobile game business model are of different types - each of which favours a certain aspect of the app experience, for instance, exclusive in-app features, ad-free interface, content availability, etc. Here are some of the major models:

• In-App Purchases - In-app purchases are the leading type of monetization strategy that favours the entire mobile gaming industry. It is also known as microtransactions and in-game purchases. This is a strategy in which players pay real money to unlock special features/assets in the game like currency, weapons, boosters, etc. More often than not, the most sought-after features are locked behind paywalls to maximize purchases. There will be an in-game store through which players complete their transactions. They can either buy the assets from the store or purchase in-game currencies that help to procure exclusive offers and advance in the game.
• In-App Ads - Perhaps the most universal of all, in-app advertising is a monetization strategy that easily fits into the fabric of every app. In this method, game developers host ads in games that can directly take viewers to the advertiser’s website or app store page. In this scenerio, players can play freely but they are expected to see all ads before they can unlock new features, complete milestones, or advance to new levels. These ads can be of various types like banner ads, playable ads, rewarded video ads, and interstitial ads.
• Subscriptions - This is a unique kind of business model that has gained popularity through the rise of OTT platforms. It can be seen as a sub-set of in-app purchases but their periodic nature makes them a more profitable alternative. For instance, subscription fees paid to OTT platforms or health apps generates a stable source of revenue for brands that operate in the D2C sector.

There is also another business model known as the Hybrid model which has more than one type of monetization method implemented in an app. It is mostly adopted by non-essential apps, for instance, shopping, and travel apps. Now let us have a look into some major strategies that help in increasing the output of mobile game monetization techniques.

Notes to Gaming Success: Mobile Game Monetization Strategies

• Maintain a Good Retention Rate - There is a high chance that people will lose the initial spark to the game after a couple of weeks. Try to keep up the quality of your game and frequently introduce new events and features in the game to keep the users engaged and active.
• Test Before Running - Proper testing should be done before releasing the game and implementing new features. Bugs can be detected and removed in the beta testing stages and this will help in increasing a positive user experience. The ads that are made available in the game should also be considered. Their format, placement, and content should be properly analyzed so that they do not create boredom for customers.
• Increase Flexibility - By flexibility, we mean the adaptive nature of the game. Developers should be able to make necessary adjustments when they find any better feature that grasps players' attention or find any error in the existing version. They should also optimize their content and ads shown according to changing market trends, user feedback, and user behavior.

Since mobile marketing is also popular, the expansion of mobile games was also somewhat easy and readily available. In conclusion, mobile game monetization is a salient feature in the industry. You should also keep in mind that a mobile measurement platform like Apptrove MMP is also essential as your companion in your journey to success in this industry.