You might think Candy Crush would have nothing in common with Gold Digger and that neither of the two have much in common with Agar.io, but you’d be wrong. While each of the games is distinct, they all use the same forms of monetization tools to bring in a profit for a free-to-play game. Learn more about how you can use these tools to bring in money on your own game.
Agar.io’s Choices for Monetization
Agar.io is a fun, casual game where you hang out in character as a slowly moving ball. The aim of the game is to eat all the other balls (and characters) to become the largest person on the game board. This game has been around for many years and over that time has clearly figured out how monetization works.
You’ll quickly find that there are numerous monetization options on this game. The first are reward video ads where you sit through a video and get some coins for doing so. The game also has traditional banner ads and ads on their website to further diversify the forms of revenue they bring in as a fully free game.
How Candy Crush Does Monetization
You guessed it, the big and bag Candy Crush also has some seriously smart monetization options. While the game is free for all and has a huge following among Facebook users, there are also plenty of options for the developer to make cash off the bored folks who pop in to play some match 3 throughout the day.
Just like Agar.io, this giant game uses reward video ads. Instead of forcing ads on players like many games, users have a choice to watch or not. If they don’t, there is no negative. However, if they do, they get a reward inside the game. The reality is that most players are going to watch that ad because they get something they want out of it. Players can also indulge by paying for in-game items, another smart monetization option from Candy Crush.
Gold Digger’s Monetization Choices
If you haven’t heard of Gold Digger, it’s time to learn all about it. This game has monetization down to a science despite being a simple little game that is great for passing time. In Gold Digger, you play as a miner who smashed through dirt, sand, and boulders to make money.
Gold Digger offers a “gold bonus” where you simply watch a short ad and you make double the money. With ads by AppLixir, they’re pulling in cash that a user only has to spend a few seconds to watch. It doesn’t stop there though. The premium item in the game are gem stones. Those can also be provided by watching a short reward video ad.
As you can see, in-game purchases and video advertisements that offer a real reward give players a choice while also giving them an incentive to help the developer’s bottom line. In the end, everyone is happy.
