Monetization

Digital monetization mechanics in paid and free games are converging in creating an engaged and long-term relationship between players and the game: Game-as-a-Service games provide dynamic content releases in the form of packs of different natures, while F2P games release both units and bundles of items with different access and usage modes, mixing play and purchase modes. Paid and free models need to innovate their content in order to keep players engaged, increase the game's lifetime and be able to offer new spending opportunities to players. Paid and free monetization models have their own strengths and weaknesses. Paid models of monetization are less difficult to design and less random, but lead to a higher financial barrier for players, excluding potentially interested players or friends to play with. On the other hand, free models have a more flexible monetization where it is possible to test in real-time new mechanics, where there is no maximum expense limit but where the management and monitoring of the free/pay differential value is increasingly more complex. That is the reason why F2P monetization mechanics have recently come under criticism. However, F2P models allow for fast adjustment based on players' reactions and complaints. Today, "real-money" monetization in P2E games (such as in the Daily Fantasy Sports games genre) is also challenging gambling jurisdictions in countries all over the world. This highlights how choices made about the design of monetization mechanics will make the game fall under gambling laws or not. Monetization has become a connected, real-time and evolving activity, mixing traditional paid models with free models. These techniques are coexisting in a digital-distribution era implying that each has its pros and cons.