How To Monetize Your Mobile Game for Rapid ROIs?

Games are growing from strength to strength in terms of the coin they are raking in. From mobile games to PC releases and on to consoles, video games are now powering past traditional forms of entertainment in terms of ROI. It goes without saying that because of this many organizations are scrambling to build their own games.

But without a well planned monetization strategy, even the best game can turn into a proverbial ball and chain, one that is exceptionally resource intensive without even allowing the organization to break even.

Here is where having a solid monetization strategy can help you in getting the desired ROI from your mobile game development initiative. How? Read on.

The Advent of Monetization

DOTA 2 and Fortnite are two of the earliest games to deviate from brick-and-mortar retail as a monetization strategy and choose the pay-to-play and battle pass monetization methods(more on this later). Both these games are massive today with dedicated player bases in millions, each player paying a small fee that adds up to obscene amounts of money.

Game monetization has since diversified into multiple methods, the best of which we will get to soon. But first, let’s start with a little context.

What is Game Monetization

Game monetization is a method of building game in a way that brings revenue to the developers, the license holders and the publishers. Monetization methods may vary from game genre to game genre and even from platform to platform.

As monetization methods evolve, progressive game developers are incorporating gameplay tweaks so as to maximize the appeal and replayability of the game in absolute correlation with the money players are ready to spend.

The first step in successfully monetizing your mobile game is to examine the games that failed to adopt aligned monetization strategies. One such game is Sonic Runners by SEGA.

Since Sonic Runners was the first game in the popular Sonic the Hedgehog game series for smartphones, the developers were sure that this game was going to be a global hit. However, as soon as the game was released players began to express dissatisfaction with the game’s predatory monetization strategy and several unresolved issues.

The failure of Sonic Runners serves as an example of how a mobile game can be unsuccessful even if it is part of a well-known multi-million dollar franchise. It also demonstrates how crucial it is to have a successful monetization strategy for your mobile game.

4 Steps to Successfully Monetize Your Mobile Game

In the last year (2022), the number of video gamers globally stood at 3.03 billion. Monetization could translate into big money if done right. Poor/predatory monetization causes a significant portion of mobile games to fail.

When it came to gameplay, Sonic Runners, for example, wasn’t a horrible game. Instead, its failure was caused by its monetization strategy. So how does one circumvent monetization strategy issues when a behemoth like SEGA could not?

To answer that question, here is our step-by-step process for developing a strong monetization strategy below.

1. Create an Aligned Monetization Strategy

Beginner developers typically fall into one of two categories when it comes to planning for monetization.

The developers at one extreme are those whose “only” goal in making a game is to generate money. But you shouldn’t create a game around monetization as the main priority. This method won’t result in a nice game, and paradoxically, it won’t be monetizable either.

At the opposite end are developers who do not consider monetization at all. During the planning stages, these developers place all of their attention on the design and production of the game, only taking into account the monetization strategy as the release date draws near. Unfortunately, it becomes impossible to monetize your mobile game by that point.

Avoiding both of these strategies is the proper course of action for your game’s monetization. The gameplay experience of your players should come first, and your monetization strategy should be based on that.

Take Candy Crush as an illustration. Candy Crush’s monetization has been placed around an excellent game concept created by King, the game’s makers. For instance, in Candy Crush, you must wait for the timer to finish before you may play again after using up all of your lives. However, you may get rid of the timer by making an in-app purchase that adds more lives.

2. Choose your Monetization Strategy

The genre of your game and the intended audience must also be taken into account when developing a monetization strategy. For instance, you shouldn’t use in-app purchases to monetize your mobile game if it is a puzzle game aimed at youngsters.

Here are five of the most popular monetization strategies:

• In-app purchases
• Advertisements
• Subscriptions
• Paid Model
• Mixed Model

We go into further detail about each of them below.

In-App Purchases

The most popular technique of mobile market monetization right now is in-app purchases. More money is made with this monetization strategy than using any other strategy.

‘In-app purchases’ are purchases players make within your game to unlock features that improve their gameplay.

Consumables and non-consumables are the two main categories of in-app purchases.

• Consumables are something that your player can purchase more than once. This category includes extra lives, healing elixirs and potions etc.
• Your player can only purchase non-consumables once. Items like strong weapons and character skins fall under this category.

Consider that your game is an RPG. In your game, you can create a variety of items that players can buy, such as weapons and unique abilities. However, a significant portion of your player base won’t appreciate it and will probably stop playing your game if the only way players can obtain these products is by purchasing them.

However, your players won’t experience this issue if you allow them to obtain the same stuff through game grinding. Some of the players who initially refuse to pay may eventually begin doing so.

You should set up your in-app purchases on the App Store and Playstore once you’ve made the decision to monetize your mobile game with IAPs. You can customize each in-app purchase in your game by type, pricing, and other factors like genre and age group.

Advertisements

Another popular strategy for monetizing your mobile game is through in-game advertisements. One of the main causes that most modern mobile games are free-to-play is the in-game advertisement model.

You can use a variety of in-game advertisements in your game, including the following:

• Banner Ads

During gameplay, banner ads are ads you place in a specific location on the game screen for your players. Players immediately become aware of banner ads because they are present while they are playing. Players, however, view this ad type as obtrusive for the same reasons.

• Interstitial Ads

Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that you show in your mobile game between transitions (like between two game levels). Players find interstitial ads less obtrusive than banner ads because they can close them by hitting a close button.

• Reward Ads

Reward ads are video advertisements that your players can view in exchange for in-game rewards like more lives or in-game currency. Reward ads feature high levels of engagement compared to most other ad categories.

• Playable Ads

Playable advertisements are those that your players may access from within your game and play. Playable advertisements typically feature one or two levels from the target game and are for other mobile games. Playable ads are yet another type of advertisement with high levels of player involvement.

Selecting the ideal ad formats for your game and its intended audience is essential to successfully monetize your mobile game with in-game advertisements. If you don’t, your ads will be perceived as obtrusive by your players, and player engagement and retention rates will be low. Therefore, carefully consider who your target market is, and then design your game’s monetization strategy accordingly.

The Role of Ad Networks

The next step is to select an ad network for your game after you have chosen the appropriate ad types and thought through how to use them in your game. You and advertisers will communicate with one another over an ad network.

Consider that you have interstitial ads set up in your game that is geared toward young women. Now imagine that a woman’s cosmetics company with the same target market has a series of interstitial ads. The ad network will automatically connect your game with the brand’s ads because the ad space in your game and the specifications of the cosmetics brand match. And the players of your game will see ads for the makeup brand through the ad network.

There are many different ad networks available. Any of the following ones are good places to start:

• Ads in Unity
• AdMob by Google
• IronSource
• Facebook Ads
• AppLovin

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are typically automatically renewed, and players can continue to receive perks as long as they keep paying.

Due to the numerous benefits offered by subscriptions compared to alternative payment methods, many customers choose them. Additionally, it aids in their awareness of their spending.

Multiple subscriptions can be included in your game. With many subscriptions, you can offer various perks and monetize your game.

For instance, let’s say your first-person shooter game offers 3 distinct membership bundles. For $10 every month, Subscription A offers players ten more lives, three new weapons, and 5000 coins. The second package, Subscription B, costs $7 a month and provides players with five lives, one new weapon, and 2000 coins. The third package, Subscription C, costs $5 each month and grants players three extra lives and 1000 coins but no new weapon.

Your players will have the freedom to select the membership package that best suits their needs when you provide such a wide variety of possibilities.

You can customize your subscriptions in the App Store and Playstore after you’ve created them. Choose the ‘Renewable Subscription’ option in App Connect to add your subscriptions in order to configure for the App Store. In the meanwhile, you can add subscriptions for the Playstore in your Google Developer Account’s Subscriptions tab.

Paid Model

The standard model of game monetization is the paid model. This business model allows you to charge your players a one-time fee to purchase your game, after which they can play it for as long as they choose without having to pay any more money.

Due to the increase in free-to-play mobile games in recent years, the paid monetization model’s popularity has decreased. But by adopting the paid model, a number of mobile apps, including Monument Valley, Minecraft, and Terraria, have found financial success.

These commercial successes are attributable to the large number of mobile gamers who favor making a single payment in order to play a game indefinitely. Therefore, if you believe the kind of game you create is one that your players would like to pay for upfront, go ahead.

Easy configuration of your paid monetization options is possible with App Connect and Google Developer Account.

Mixed Model

The term “mixed monetization model” refers to any strategy that combines different forms of monetization strategies. The most typical approach to achieve this is to use in-app purchases and in-game advertisements in the same game.

For instance, if your game is a puzzle game, you can allow in-app purchases for players to purchase extra lives. Players can also be given more lives by being permitted to see reward ads.

Another strategy is to make the initial level of your game completely free to play, but lock the next levels behind a single in-app payment.

A third option is to offer a one-time in-app purchase that would enable your players to delete all in-game ads.

You can experiment with combinations of your own if these don’t work for your game. Just be sure the mixed monetization strategy you select is appropriate for your game.

3. Test Monetization

It’s time to test your monetization strategy after you’ve set it up in your game.

For instance, the advantages of the purchase, such as additional lives or healing potions, must be available to your user as soon as they buy your game. And just the appropriate amount should be deducted from their account by the game. You can test to see if the in-game advantages and the payment mechanism are functioning properly.

Additionally, through testing, you may determine whether or not the in-game monetization is invasive. For instance, your testers can determine whether the in-game purchases are too onerous or whether your ads appear at the proper intervals. In other words, if you think of the monetization of your mobile game as a puzzle, testing is an essential piece.

4. Iteration and Analytics

No matter how much work you put into making your mobile game profitable, there are always ways to make it better.

Software for game analytics can assist you in doing this. You may find out information about how your players are reacting to your monetization strategies via game analytics.

Are they disregarding some in-app purchases entirely? Do they have a negative response to a specific ad format? Or do they not subscribe to your subscriptions?

These are examples of areas where you can make improvements.

By identifying, you also have the chance to conduct Beta testing and further fine-tune your monetization strategy. For instance, you can determine whether switching to a different sort of in-app purchase would be preferable if a particular type is not performing well.

You can divide the audience into two groups, A and B, to achieve this. You introduce the new in-app purchase to audience A, while you don’t do the same for audience B.

When you’ve finished, you can utilize analytics to evaluate how well each one is performing. For instance, if you learn that audience A enjoys the new in-app purchase, you may opt to get rid of the outdated one and replace it with the more effective new one. You can carry on with your experiments if not.

In a similar vein, segmentation can be used to test various monetization strategies on various user groups. For instance, you may provide unique in-app purchases to players who frequently make in-app purchases. You can also display additional ads to players who make no payments at all.

You obtain greater retention and engagement rates as well as better income when you adjust and enhance your mobile game’s monetization strategy in this way.

The Takeaway: Monetization Matters

It’s difficult to monetize your mobile game. You must meticulously design, implement, test, and fine-tune your strategy. But rest assured that it is worth the effort.

Your game could rank among the highest earners in the market if it’s a top-notch mobile game with a successful, non predatory monetization strategy. But to get your monetization strategy right, you need a vetted expert. Here is where 300Mind steps in.

What can 300Mind do for You?

If you are looking for an end-to-end mobile game design and development partner, you are in the right place. Introducing 300Mind, a market leader in game development. We are an eclectic cross functional team of experts with skills ranging from asset creation to strategy formulation and monetization implementation.

With 300Mind in your corner, you can rest assured that your game development initiative is all set for the big-leagues.

Interested in building the next chart-topping mobile sensation? We are just a click away.