Monetization of free casual games: How EpicPlay is doing it

Casual games have become increasingly popular in recent times. All thanks to technology, these games are easily accessible to players worldwide through various platforms such as apps and websites. Developers of such apps and websites have been benefiting big time as casual gaming is on the rise, especially when it involves free games.

But the question we all may ask is - How do the websites make money if the games are free? Or do they not earn at all? Absolutely not. There are a lot of ways to monetize, let’s take a look at them.

Digital ads are the advertising trend that has taken over the internet ever since the late 1990s when the internet boomed. These are the ads you see on websites, especially blogs, and news. Their spending is expected to reach around USD 701 billion in 2023 with the most spending generated in the US (around USD 297 billion). Gaming websites also hopped on to the trend of using digital ads to monetize.

“As more players started to join us, we thought ad monetization would be the best way to monetize. It is a highly scalable option and is flexible enough with the number of ad formats available in the market.”, said EpicPlay developers when asked about why ads were their monetization choice.

Most gaming websites host free casual games like the call break game, Ludo, 8 Ball Pool, Flappy Bird, etc., that makes players come back for more and, in turn, boosts the website's monetization stream.

When it comes to monetizing games with multiple layers, levels, modes, and other variations to play with, subscription models especially work well. According to a report, about 52% of gamers have at least one gaming subscription. By subscribing to the gaming website, players can unlock new areas of the game. A good example is the call break, which can be a single-player or multiplayer game and involves various playing styles. The downside is that subscriptions work best only with gaming enthusiasts and not casual gamers who are only looking to pass the time with some carefree gaming and do not want to invest money.

Apps and websites can make their game available for free and still make money from in-game purchases. This is usually a store inside the game where gaming resources are sold for real money. It’s a great way for game developers to monetize, as it may even help the players progress through the game.

Another way that some gaming websites are employing is affiliate marketing. It is definitely no newbie to the list of website monetization strategies. Websites can insert links to external products on their pages, and the more the players click or buy from the links, the more the website makes money. Many gaming websites use this strategy to monetize; however, the downside to this is that once the player goes to the external product page, they may not return to buy from the affiliate links. So, there’s a high chance that websites are losing out on money with each player that visits the affiliates. Some popular gaming affiliate programs worldwide are offered by CrakRevenue, Algo-Affiliate, Kimia, and Mobidea.

Moving on, did you know that the merchandises and collectibles market is worth USD 13 billion in the US? Many gaming websites sell merchandise related to gaming to earn a passive income. This monetization method is a great way for game developers to make money while promoting their mainstream business, which is game development. Some gaming merchandise you may consider ubiquitous is for the ever-so-popular games called Minecraft, League of Legends, and Fortnite. Casual game developers can hop on to this trend too!

Even though digital advertising, in-game purchases, subscriptions, and merchandising may seem like the best options, tournaments, too, could be a great way to monetize free casual games. As such games are popular among people of all age and gender groups, developers can expect more participation in a free casual gaming tournament. Thus, websites like EpicPlay could also consider this monetization strategy for a passive income.

Come what may, casual gaming is here to stay! So discovering new ways to monetize is the way out for apps, websites, and gaming businesses to stay ahead of the game (pun intended)

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)