The World of Freemium

The world of freemium

In the past ten years, a big shift has happened in the world of computer games. There were many changes, like stunning visuals that shaped the gaming world, but there is also one change, that has not got much to do with the actual gameplay experience. That change is the business model of today’s games.

Traditionally, game development studios spent a lot of time working on a game. Once it was considered to be finished finished, the result was programmed onto a cartridge, which put on the shelves of stores, waiting for the customers to buy them. By the time the first customers got their hands on the game, the team was working on a different project. Successful games were followed by sequels, but even those took years to complete. By that time, there were only a few people who bothered to play the prequel. Because of this, games used to be simple products, with a shelf life of a few quarters.

With the rapid spread of internet, it was made possible to offer more than a simple, off the shelf experience. It allowed developers to release updates and patches for games and also, it made multiplayer games possible. These offered a brand new, richer experience and gave the publishers the much wanted control – a tool to fight their biggest enemy: piracy. This was the first sign of the game-as-a-service approach.

Publishers soon realized, that the traditional business model they utilize did not capitalize the whole market. They were many people who were willing to pay more than the retail price of the game. Limited editions and DLCs could capture this leftover revenue. Publishers decided not to appeal to people who were not willing to pay the base price for the game because they were not found to be “useful” to them in any way.

With the explosion of social media, even the biggest publishers had to realize that it’s vital to appeal to people not willing to spend money on games. That’s because they are a big market, who have the same marketing power as...