The world of gaming was shaken in November 2019 when the coronavirus pandemic reached its peak. Traditional gaming events such as E3 and the Tokyo Game Show were taken off and replaced with online events such as the Google Stadia Connect and Game Arena. The change was so great that even established games studios like Nintendo and Electronic Arts had to pivot to adapt to the new environment. It would be an understatement to say that the pandemic had a significant impact on the games industry; one that continues to this day.
The good news is that, in some cases, the change was for the better. In particular, game makers who had their sights set on the global market and the mainstream audience that it entails were able to release games with the potential to become genuine blockbusters.
If you’re looking to make money from gaming, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll run down the many ways you can earn money from a game project. We’ll cover everything from generating revenue to supporting a team of artists and developers.
Monetise Your Game With These Strategies
If you’re looking to make money from a game project, you have a number of options available to you. Whether you’re self-funding or seeking financing from a bank or venture capital firm, there’s a business model for you to choose.
Here are four methods you can use to make money from a game:
1. Monetise Through Early Access
One of the oldest and most popular ways of making money from a game is to lock the product of your hard work behind a pay wall from the outset. This is most commonly known as “early access” or “beta testing.”
With early access, you essentially pre-order a game. The developer then releases a small portion of the game to those who pre-ordered it, often through a digital distribution service such as Steam or the App Store. Those who are lucky enough to get their hands on the game before its official release can then play it and provide feedback to the developer. This way, the developer can optimise the gameplay based on player feedback and ensure that the final product is as good as it can possibly be.
For instance, if you pre-order Halo Wars 2 on Steam, you’ll be given the opportunity to play a slice of the game three weeks before its official release. This is extremely beneficial to the developer, 343 Industries, as it gives them the opportunity to fix any bugs and glitches before the game’s commercial launch. If you play the game and provide feedback, you’ll also be credited as a beta tester and given access to the beta version of the game.
While this seems like a pretty sweet deal, keep in mind that pre-ordering a game isn’t free. You’ll need to cough up either $60 or its equivalent in digital coins. However, if you’re looking to make money from a game project, this is arguably the most popular route to go down.
2. Monetise Through In-App Purchases
Another popular way of monetising a game is to charge for extra content or features that are only available in the app. To do this, you need a free app store account. Once you have one, all you need to do is search for your game in the app store, and you’ll see a number of monetisation options appear beneath the app’s description.
Some app stores, like the App Store, allow you to make money from several different sources. For instance, you could sell virtual items that will be usable within the game, such as swords, axes, and armour. You could also offer users the ability to purchase a themed skin for their avatars, which would then make them stand out in the community.
On the other hand, mobile games marketplaces, like the Google Play Store, don’t offer this feature built into the platform. Instead, they rely on developers to make their money through in-app purchases. In the Google Play Store, this typically takes the form of virtual goods that can be used to purchase an endless supply of ammo, or new weapons to shoot things with, or even vehicles that can be used to traverse the terrain in a game. These are just a few examples; there are literally hundreds of ways you can make money from a game through in-app purchases.
3. Monetise Through Advertising
Advertising is something we see on a regular basis and it’s an important aspect of modern life. Just think about all the billboards you see on your way to work, or the TV shows and movie trailers you might have watched in the last few days. Advertising plays an important part in terms of revenue generation, but it can also be an invasive facet of gameplay. While you don’t always have to watch TV commercials, playing certain games can automatically download content-generating apps that will then bombard you with ads.
Some game developers, like the popular mobile game developer Supercell, make thousands of dollars a day from advertising. Their popular game, Clash of Clans, generates around $60-$100 million a year in revenue, primarily from advertising. By comparison, TikTok, an extremely popular app that allows users to create short videos that can be followed by others, makes around $5-$15 million a day, in part from advertising.
It’s important to note that, while advertising can be an important part of the revenue of a game, it doesn’t always have to be. You can generate revenue through other, more innovative methods.
4. Monetise Through Merchandise
There are literally hundreds of ways you can make money from a game, but one of the most popular methods is to sell merchandise relating to the game. This can be anything from figurines, T-shirts, mugshots, or even the game itself if you’re creating an RPG Maker game and want to make money off its sales.
To sell merchandise for Halo Wars 2, for example, you could create T-shirts with the game’s logo on them, or figurines depicting various weapons from the game. If you’re not creative, you could also hire a company to help you design some cheap and nasty merchandise for you.
This is one of the easiest ways to make money from a game, especially if you have an existing following from the early access stage of your game. If you play and enjoy Supercell’s games, for example, you could create a store on eBay or Etsy and start selling their figurines and T-shirts. You could even create your own line of figurines based on characters from the game and sell them in your store. With the right marketing campaign and some clever merchandising, you could potentially increase your game’s revenue by tens of thousands of dollars a month.
While this is one of the easier methods to make money from a game, it’s also one of the most lucrative. The key is to find a way to merchandise your game that appeals to the audience that you’re aiming for. If you can do that, you’ll be able to create some amazing products that will help you bring in big bucks.
One Of The Most Popular Ways To Make Money From A Game Is To Pre-Order It.
If you’re looking to make money from a game project, one of the simplest and most popular routes to go down is to pre-order it. This is especially popular with gamers, but it can also be a profitable move for developers if done right. Let’s take a look at how to make money from a game pre-order.
1. Get Your Hands On A Beta Version Of The Game
One of the first things you should do if you’re looking to pre-order a game is to get your hands on a beta version of it. If you don’t have access to a beta version of the game, seek out a friend or contact the developer directly to see if they’re willing to give you access to one. Knowing how to use a computer to do something other than play games is a huge advantage when it comes to working with software and applications. If you can get access to a beta version of the game, you’ll not only be able to test it and provide feedback, but you’ll also be able to see how the game plays in its entirety. You’ll also be able to create save files and transfer them to your own game machine, if you have one, or another device, if you don’t.
2. Keep An Eye On The Competition
While seeking Beta testing, keep an eye on the competition. You don’t want to end up competing with another developer or publisher for limited resources such as servers or storage. Also, while testing, don’t focus solely on your own game. Instead, look at the competition and try to find ways to improve your own game based on their strategies.