Monetisation
Monetising a game is product design plus business design. The realistic models for indies are premium (pay once), ads, in-app purchase (cosmetic, consumable, unlock), and subscription. Each comes with rules, store policies, and user-experience trade-offs that decide whether you make money or burn goodwill.
Models, store fees, and ethical patterns
EXAMPLE
# ===== Models — pick by player + platform ===== # Premium (pay once) # - Player pays at install / purchase # - Steam, App Store, Play Store: 30% take (15% under $1M/yr on Apple SBP) # - Best for: traditional indie games on PC, console, Steam Deck # - Risk: harder to sell on F2P-dominant mobile # Ads # - Banner, interstitial, rewarded video # - Best for: casual mobile, hyper-casual # - Networks: AdMob, Unity Ads, AppLovin, Meta Audience Network # - Rates: $0.50-$5 CPM US; much less elsewhere # - Rewarded video pays better AND respects players (opt-in) # - Risk: brand-damaging UX if interstitials are too frequent # In-app purchase (IAP) # - Consumable: coins, lives, time saves (Apple takes 30%/15%) # - Non-consumable: permanent unlock, expansion (same fees) # - Subscriptions: monthly / yearly access (Apple/Google 15% after 1 year) # - Best for: F2P mobile, ongoing content updates # - Risk: dark patterns + 'whale dependency' make 1% of players fund the rest # Subscriptions # - Recurring revenue; predictable; can include cloud features # - Apple Auto-Renewing Subscription; Google Subscriptions # - Best for: services with ongoing content (MMOs, game pass) # Hybrid # - Premium + cosmetic IAP (Stardew Valley + Pelican Town items) # - Free + ads + remove-ads IAP (most casual games) # - F2P + battle pass + skin store (most live-service) # ===== Store fees + alternatives ===== # Apple App Store: 30% standard; 15% Small Business Program (<$1M/yr); 15% subs after 1y # Google Play: same as Apple # Steam: 30% standard; 25% over $10M; 20% over $50M # Epic Games Store: 12% # itch.io: 10% default; configurable # Web (own site): payment processor fee only (Stripe 2.9% + $0.30) # Apple Reader rule (2024+): some apps can link out to web purchase, paying # only payment-processor fee — depends on category and region. Verify with # Apple guidelines before relying on it. # ===== Player psychology + ethics ===== # What works LONG TERM: # - Cosmetic IAP that respects player choice # - Battle passes with reasonable grind # - Rewarded ads (player chooses) # - Generous free tier; premium content adds value # What burns goodwill: # - Loot boxes (banned in some regions, especially for minors) # - Pay-to-win in competitive PvP # - Energy meters that block play unless you pay # - Hidden timers, FOMO countdowns # - Subscription auto-renewals that are hard to cancel # Regulatory landscape (2026): # - EU Digital Services Act + AVMSD: disclosure rules on loot boxes + ads to minors # - UK Age-Appropriate Design Code: stricter rules for under-18 features # - California / Australia ACL: refunds + chargebacks # ===== Metrics that matter ===== # - DAU / MAU (engagement) # - Day 1 / 7 / 30 retention # - ARPPU (revenue per PAYING user) # - ARPDAU (revenue per daily active user; the F2P standard) # - LTV (lifetime value) # - CAC (cost to acquire a user) — if running paid ads # - Conversion rate (free -> paying) # Healthy benchmarks for a polished casual F2P: # - Day 1 retention > 35% # - Day 30 retention > 5% # - Conversion > 2% # - ARPDAU > $0.05 # ===== Implementation ===== # Unity: Unity IAP / Unity Monetization # Unreal: In-App Purchases plugin (per store) # Cocos: SDKBox / plugin per store # Cross-platform: RevenueCat (subscription + IAP server logic) # Adapty (subscription experiments) # Server-side validation REQUIRED — never trust the client purchase receipt # ===== Pricing experiments ===== # - Price 6-12 candidates; A/B per store geo # - Soft launch in low-CPI markets (Philippines, Vietnam, Australia for US-style audiences) # - Watch elasticity; cheaper does NOT always mean more revenue # ===== Refunds + chargebacks ===== # Steam: refunds < 2 weeks AND < 2 hours played; no questions asked # Apple / Google: case-by-case; honour quickly to keep your store rating high # Build a refund-friendly UX: clear unsubscribe, no FOMO timers # ===== Decision tree ===== # - Solo dev, small game, PC/console -> Premium on Steam + itch # - Solo dev, mobile casual -> Free + ads + remove-ads IAP # - Small studio, ongoing content -> F2P + cosmetic IAP + battle pass # - Multiplayer service -> F2P + subscription + cosmetic IAP # - Educational / kids -> Premium ONLY; no ads to minors # ===== Pitfalls ===== # - Skipping receipt verification -> easy fraud # - Forgetting refund flow + tax compliance # - Going F2P without a content plan -> player drops off after week one # - Aggressive ad placement -> 1-star reviews + Play Console warnings # - Subscriptions that auto-renew without a clear cancel UX -> chargebacks
Why it matters
Pick the model that fits both your game and your operations. Premium on Steam needs polish but no live-ops; F2P mobile needs constant content + balancing + analytics. Choosing wrong is a business mistake more than a game-design mistake — and reversing it after launch is painful enough that most indies prefer to switch genres.
Tip: Tweak the snippet with Try it Yourself », then sit the quiz at the bottom of the page.
Example
Example
// Premium, ads (rewarded best), IAP, subscription, season pass. // Pick ONE model first; mixing them well is hard.Try it Yourself »
Discussion
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