Monetization

The gaming subscription market in the U.S. has nearly stopped growing, according to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella. This trend leads the expert to question claims that Game Pass and other similar services could eventually dominate the gaming industry.

Last year saw a series of major crypto game releases on Telegram. Writing for Game World Observer, TON Society‘s Alexey Toropov and AdsGram‘s Vadim Sterlin explain what the state of the Telegram Mini Apps platform, also sharing insights into the successful games.

The free-to-play version of Dark and Darker, which was initially launched on the Epic Games Store in March 2024, has been removed from the platform for the second time, a year after its debut.

Phoenix Labs has revealed that its free-to-play RPG, Dauntless, will cease operations on May 29, 2025. No further content or updates will be provided after this date

Last year was marked by a series of high-profile crypto gaming releases on Telegram. Alexey Toropov from TON Society and Vadim Sterling from AdsGram explained to App2Top what the Telegram Mini Apps platform looks like after their launch, as well as details about the projects themselves

Microsoft disclosed its financial outcomes for the second quarter of its fiscal year, revealing a 7% drop in overall gaming revenue alongside a 29% decline in hardware sales

Together with industry experts, we continue to summarize the results of 2024 in gaming. Anton Rybakov shared with the editors how the year went for JoyBits.

We continue our review of 2024 together with top managers and experts from the games industry (and related fields). Up next is an interview with David Fernandez Remesal, CEO of Sandsoft.

We continue our review of 2024 together with top managers and experts from the gaming industry (and related fields). Up next is an interview with Dmitry Bobrov, CEO of ZiMAD.

Take-Two Interactive reported results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended on September 30.

The gaming landscape is changing rapidly, and hybrid-casual games have been a hot segment for a while now. Writing for Game World Observer, ad platform BIGO Ads has shared some of the key benefits of this model and how it opens up new growth opportunities for mobile developers.

We haven't had materials from the "Profession" section for a long time. We're fixing that. The new article in the series is dedicated to the work of a monetization manager (more specifically, a senior specialist in this field). Irina Bragina from Glera Games shared insights into the nuances of this specialization

The newest whitepaper from GamesIndustry.biz, titled "A Complete Guide to Monetizing and Marketing Your Video Games Direct-to-Consumer," is now available for download

Microsoft has taken issue with Apple's commission fees, claiming they hinder the ability to "effectively monetize its cloud gaming service" on iOS devices. In a statement to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of an investigation into mobile browsers and the cloud gaming sector, Microsoft noted that Apple's guidelines modifications between January and March 2024 still largely obstruct native cloud gaming applications. The company further stated that "Apple's in-app purchase commission fee is set at a level that is neither economically sustainable nor justifiable." Microsoft argued that the 30% fee creates an insurmountable challenge for properly monetizing its cloud gaming services, citing Guideline 3.1.3(b), which prohibits offering different content, subscriptions, or features, including consumables in multiplatform games, to iOS users compared to those available on other platforms

Game developer Rogue Snail has revealed that Relic Hunters Legend will transition from a free-to-play model to a premium one. This decision comes after challenges on the publishing front, as the studio had previously separated from Gearbox Publishing, now operating as Arc following staff reductions. In June, the publisher agreed to revert the game's rights back to Rogue Snail. With the studio now taking on self-publishing duties, it has introduced a new business model aiming to be "more sustainable."

Square Enix has revealed that its four-vs-four shooter, Foamstars, will transition to a free-to-play model. According to details published on the company's support website, this change will take effect on October 4, 2024. Starting on this date, players will not need a PlayStation Plus subscription to access the game

Nintendo has announced that it will retire its free-to-play mobile game, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, on November 28, introducing a "paid version" in its place. While the company has not disclosed the release date or pricing details for the new game, it assured that there would be no "in-app purchases" and it won't require an always-on internet connection. Further details are anticipated in October 2024

We are starting to publish video presentations (along with transcripts) from the "Game Industry" conference that took place in July. The first presentation is by Alexander Vasiliev, partner manager at Yandex Advertising. The talk focuses on the main mistakes mobile game developers make when integrating advertising monetization

Take-Two has released its financial report for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company posted modest revenue growth, but its net loss widened during the period.

Since its launch in 2020 by MiHoYo, Genshin Impact has significantly changed the landscape of the gaming industry and the expectations of many players. It has demonstrated that free-to-play mobile games can reach exceptional levels of quality. While it's true that high-quality free-to-play mobile games existed before, Genshin Impact elevated the standards. The game introduced AAA-level production values, an expansive open world, immersive storytelling and lore, a universally appealing art style, and engaging gameplay and progression systems that avoid excessive grinding. This includes the incorporation of gacha elements. Genshin Impact possesses all the hallmarks of a comprehensive AAA console or PC game. MiHoYo's ambitious strategy extended the game's availability across multiple platforms, including mobile (iOS/Android), PC, PS4, and PS5. Although not entirely new, this multi-platform release, combined with the game's outstanding elements, has driven its global success, with nearly 60 million players enjoying it today. This launch has been transformative and has sent ripples throughout the gaming industry

Electronic Arts is introducing a new monetization layer to its prominent football series with the inclusion of a Premium Tier of in-game rewards in EA Sports FC 25. According to VG247, this new tier comes alongside the standard free tier of card packs, players, and cosmetics that players traditionally unlock by completing in-game challenges. Upon reaching a certain reward milestone, players will have the option to access the additional Premium Tier rewards. The company has not yet disclosed the pricing details for this new tier. However, it has confirmed that players can unlock it using Ultimate Team coins, which are accumulated during gameplay, or FC Points, which are available for purchase with real money

At the "Gaming Industry" conference, Alexander Vasiliev, a partner account manager for Yandex's advertising network, spoke. He identified six common mistakes that mobile game developers make during the ad monetization phase of their apps

Tencent has announced it will be discontinuing its free-to-play shooter, Synced, exactly one year after its release. Although the company did not specify a reason for the shutdown, it informed players that they could continue to "enjoy the game and use any existing in-game items" until the game's full retirement at 7pm on September 8 (GMT -8). As a result, new registrations and the in-app store have been disabled

Microsoft has revealed plans to raise the prices of its current Xbox Game Pass tiers and to launch a new Standard tier, which will not feature games upon their initial release on the service. According to a post on the company's support site, Game Pass for Console will be discontinued for new subscribers. The new Xbox Game Pass Standard option will be priced at $14.99 per month and is expected to become available "in the coming months"

Nexon has just launched its new online third-person shooter The First Descendant. The game quickly drew a lot of attention from players, many of whom criticized its monetization elements, among other issues.

Guy 'DrDisrespect' Beahm, a prominent streamer and influencer, is facing further setbacks as more partners sever ties following allegations related to his Twitch ban. YouTube has now taken the step of disabling monetization on his channel. A YouTube representative informed Kotaku that the platform has "suspended monetization on DrDisrespect's channel for violating our Creator Responsibility policy." Additionally, the channel, which boasts 4.7 million subscribers, has been excluded from the YouTube Partner Program due to "serious allegations against the creator"

Sony's recent State of Play event saw a significant portion dedicated to the upcoming hero shooter Concord, signaling the company's unwavering commitment to live service games. While the esteemed single-player games that have cemented the reputation of PlayStation's studios remain a staple, they will now share the limelight with emerging live service titles. In a less publicized move, Sony announced that Concord, unlike many in its genre, will not be free-to-play. Following the strategy seen with Helldivers 2, Concord will be priced at $40. Although two games do not constitute a full-fledged strategy, the fact that this pricing approach is applied to both the co-operative PvE Helldivers 2 and the PvP Concord indicates Sony's partial dedication to this model

Dmitry Bobrov, CEO of ZiMAD, told in the tenth issue of the Games and Names podcast about how a mobile game can remain successful for a decade. During the conversation, he also touched upon the importance of subscriptions for the company's key game.

The growth rate of revenue from subscriptions has slowed down. This was stated by Mat Piscatella, executive director and analyst at Circana (formerly NPD).

This was stated by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in an interview with Windows Central.

Starting in January 2024, most Microsoft employees will no longer receive an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for free. This is reported by The Verge, citing sources.

Microsoft is the latest game company to recently adjust its prices in Turkey and Argentina. This comes just a few months after Game Pass subscription in these countries had already become significantly more expensive.

On average, 2.2 million people launch games from the Netflix catalog every day, CNBC reports, citing data from the analytical company Apptopia. This is less than 1% of the 247.15 million subscribers of the service.

The network noticed that Anders Howard, the chief monetization designer, left Naughty Dog. He was engaged in a multiplayer game in the world of The Last of Us.

The Game Pass audience can exceed 30 million people. This figure was indicated in the LinkedIn account by Craig McNary, senior director of Xbox brand marketing.

Against the background of changes in Unity’s pricing policy, a number of gaming companies have decided to disable the monetization of Unity Ads and ironSource in all their games. They demand to cancel the new installation fee. Among the signatories of the appeal are Azur Games, Voodoo and many others.

The media reported that those gaming companies that will start using the Unity LevelPlay Mediation advertising platform will not have to pay a fee from each download.

Unity has announced a new pricing policy. Starting next year, if a number of conditions are met, the company will charge for each installation. Important: the installation will also be considered a reinstall (maybe it won’t be considered).

On August 30, Sony announced that it would raise the cost of an annual PlayStation Plus subscription by a third in September. Investors took this decision well: at Friday’s trading, the company’s stock price rose by 3.4%.

The Boosty service may have a new owner. According to Kommersant’s sources, MY.GAMES is going to transfer Boosty to a separate Russian legal entity and then sell it. According to the plan, the sale should take place before the end of the year.

At the end of 2019, the head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, suggested that Microsoft increase annual spending on the purchase of games for Game Pass to $2-3 billion. In his opinion, this would help to take Sony out of the game subscription business, since in a few years there would be a shortage of valuable content on the market.

According to gaming expert Simon Carless, to do this, you need to multiply the number of subscribers on the Steam game page by a certain value. In his newsletter, he shared the current multipliers for 2023 (based on a survey of more than 125 developers):

The US video game subscription market is likely approaching a plateau in terms of player spending. This is according to new data from analytics firm Circana.

VK has officially allowed self-employed developers to monetize applications in RuStore. The company talked about plans to do this two weeks ago.

Astrum Entertainment will start monetizing streams. Kommersant noticed that in early May she registered a special service, which she called AdvertDA.

The AppMetrica analytical service has received an update. It has a tool for tracking subscriptions.

Ubisoft has published its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31. The company posted significant losses and outlined its plans for the future, which include the focus on core-franchises, F2P, and AI adoption.

The Sims 4 has reached a new milestone almost nine years since its launch in 2014. It has officially become the most played game in franchise history.

Take-Two Interactive may have made a new purchase. The network noticed that the subscription service GameClub, which specializes in retro mobile games, came under the control of the company.

The third material, completing a series of articles about the monetization strategy of Belka Games. It is dedicated to the company’s work with advertising, the cultivation of personnel and trends in the niche.