Premium Mobile Games are leaving under F2P Pressure

The developer of The Banner Saga video game John Watson from Stoic Studio has shed light on Apple's attitude to the trend of cheaper mobile games. According to him, the management from Cupertino looks negatively at the decision of users not to pay for games. Our friends from Xsolla talked to experts and found out why F2P is gradually displacing premium projects from stores.

According to John in an interview with Polygon, Apple is advising developers on what price should be set for The Banner Saga for iOS. Earlier, this project debuted on personal computers, winning over critics. Judging by the interview, Apple advises the studio to try a premium price. It is not surprising, because the budget of this project amounted to more than $ 700 thousand. Watson believes that Apple does not like that users prefer to pay at a minimum or even get games for free.

The company hopes that at least expensive premium projects will remain on tablets. However, a study by Distimo and Chartboost conducted this year makes it clear that paid products will no longer achieve great popularity anyway.

iOS users (both those who play from smartphones and those who have fun on tablets) prefer free-to-play: 81% of all App Store revenue was generated through in-app purchases. The situation is similar on Android. According to App Annie's calculations, free-2-play apps make up 98% of the entire Google Play product range. There are many reasons for the complete dominance of F2P, but this does not mean that money will not be paid for games.

Dmitry Terekhin

"In a market economy and free competition, the value of a product always tends to the cost of creating a new copy. For digital content, the cost of replication is zero, so prices logically tend to zero. The only exception can be unique and inimitable products. For example, good indie games can still charge for downloading, but the next clone of Clash of Clans will no longer be able to be paid. Therefore, I believe that the share of F2P in stores will continue to increase, and the premium segment will essentially become an indie segment," said Dmitry Terekhin, CEO of Nekki.

Clash of Clans

The historical situation also has a huge impact on the popularity of F2P in regions such as Russia and China. Shareware games have become popular in these countries since the heyday of browser entertainment. Gamers are used to this method of monetization and gameplay features.

Alyona Meluzova

"The free-to-play model is popular in Russia both for browser games (Castlot, Berserk, Xcraft) and for mobile (Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time). The user downloads the product without losing anything. If the project is not based on the principles of pay-to-win, then you can play for free without any difficulties. If you like the entertainment, then the user plays on and donates, buying all sorts of "buns". Such a system is more convenient for most gamers. In addition, developers get the most profit from it. Everyone wins," says Alyona Meluzova from Xsolla.

Plants vs. Zombies 2

Experts believe that premium games from the App Store will not disappear. XCOM-level products will continue to appear on iOS: Enemy Unknown or Oceanhorn, but every year there will be fewer of them.

Evgeny Gnutikov

"F2P generates a much larger number of installations, which means it increases monetization opportunities. However, I don't think the premium gaming segment will die out. Rather, developers will begin to actively use the demo mode and focus on the freemium model. You can download the app or game for free and use the product for a limited time, or in a limited functionality mode. If you are afraid that the product will not be bought, then you are only showing your own uncertainty about the quality and usefulness of the proposed application. In my experience, the very availability of the opportunity to try a paid product in demo mode ensures consumer loyalty," says COO NumBuster! Evgeny Gnutikov.

Spirits of Mystery — traditional freemium

Experts agree that Apple's alleged negative attitude towards F2P games is not justified. Within the framework of the mobile market, it cannot be argued that any kind of earnings system is correct or incorrect. This is fundamentally wrong. There is an objective reality, market development, and customer requirements. Some publishers who came from consoles and PCs are used to the premium distribution model, but enough time has passed to adapt to the new conditions, experts believe.

The original material can be found here: http://blog.xsolla.ru