Free-to-Play Mobile Gaming: Why F2P is So Popular Among Gamers

Mobile gaming: greedy cash grab or legitimate gaming experience? Depending on who you ask, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. But it’s extremely popular, without a doubt.

Regardless of perspective, it’s impossible to deny the value it has in the gaming and mobile app industries. In 2018, over 75% of app revenue came from mobile game purchases. 2019 saw this revenue become roughly 50% of all — you heard that right, all — revenue across the entire $140B+ global gaming industry.

Here’s the kicker: games only account for 35% of iOS and Google app store downloads, and just 10% of all the time users spent in apps.

Now consider that this time and money is mostly put towards the sheer abundance of free-to-play (F2P) mobile games. In fact, 2018’s top-grossing mobile games were in this “free” category. Let’s dive into what makes this billion-dollar industry tick.

What’s The Deal With F2P Mobile Games?

With all this market share, you might be confused about how these free apps are worth making.

To start, “free” isn’t truly free. Someone shells out cash to make these apps earn money. Free games monetized exclusively by ads do exist. However, F2P games usually fall under the “freemium” moniker, meaning the…