Breaking out of the app store: New monetization opportunities for mobile game developers
Studies show that more than 260 million mobile game players are out of reach of the app stores. But with Apple and Epic’s lawsuit impacting the mobile game industry and monetization in a big way, new opportunities to monetize outside the app store are opening up.
To talk about how mobile developers can capitalize on these new avenues, GamesBeat Summit gave the floor to Anthony Mendoza, Director of Business Development, Global, and Hannah Zhang, Business Development Manager, USA, both at Xsolla.
Mendoza opened up by talking about three major components to this new freedom from the app store. First is that now players can use online payment methods to purchase in-game items and currency, and top up their accounts. The second key opportunity is that developers can now market directly to players, in order to drive traffic to a branded web shop for purchases. The third major component is that a branded web shop, which represents a new way for developers to own the entire user experience. And it looks like it may end up being a global trend.
“Apple may eventually lift the restrictions and allow developers to offer alternative payment options for their users in more territories,” Zhang said. “Developers are more aware of their options around contacting their users to encourage them to pay directly and avoid Apple and Google’s platform fees.”
The lift in restrictions also means developers now have a way to reach new, untapped markets — those 260 million players who can’t use the app stores because they have no way to pay for their purchases (because credit cards are not the standard form of payment in their countries). When game developers can offer alternative, local methods of payment, through companies like Xsolla, they can
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