Pirate Software Explains Mobile Games Monetization 

The worst are the fake fairy ones "Watch this ad and I'll give you 500g! No? Okay here's another ad anyways with no reward" Instant uninstall and 1 star review.

The other monetization I tend to like is the kind that offer a "$5 to skip ads for life" shop option. At that point, it's functionally a $5 PUF game that you get to free trial for as long as you want before deciding to buy. Typically, these options feel like a respectable conversation between dev and player. The dev is essentially saying "look, we're proud of our game. We want it to just be a $5 PUF, but we know that wont fly on mobile market. We're doing FTP with ad support to get you in the door because we legitimately hope you'll like it. If you want to continue free with ad support, feel free. If you decide you like what you see and choose to directly support us by making it a PUF, we'd appreciate it. Either way, we leave that as your decision to make."

Sometimes you have to monetize a game so that players who download, it actually play it. In 2011, I launched a game for free. People installed it, loaded it up, played for 6 seconds, uninstalled it. Our star ratings were low on the app store. Then I slapped a £6.99 price tag on it ($9.99), only 1 other on the store had that level of price back then. All of a sudden, 5 star review, after 5 star review. Why? Because our game was something you could throw away for free but for £6.99, you had spent too much to turn it off before giving it a fair shot.

One model I also like is based around the fairy model. I used to play a game that had the fairy model, where you could watch a 30 second ad for bonus gold or whatever, same as what Thor described, but they also had a "get rid of ads" microtransaction for like $5 or something. I enjoyed the game so decided to buy it. What that then enabled me to do was claim the ad bonuses without watching an ad.

for the upfront payment style, there's also the option of a demo, that lets you try out the start or a small part of the game.

Reminds of a merge game I used to love. The game honestly gave me a lot of joy, but was just an ad farm. every couple minutes it would pop an ad, if I chose to watch the ad for bonus reward, it would be a 30 second ad. If I said no it would still pop the ad, but give me skip option after 5 seconds. I hated that, but they had a "remove ads forever" buy option for 3 bucks and I bought it. I played it for over a month and got a lot of joy from it. Then one day it updated, now it had a maximum amount of play per day, that you had to spend money or watch ads to get increased. My no more ads purchase was voided, and the new "no more ads" option that was added was 10 bucks. I uninstalled after that.

4:57 Yeah. I once played the need for speed mobile game that had optional ads for bonuses. But it was annoying af. Because the free stuff was too small of a push. So i sat there ad farming to get more recources to progress and get new cars. Honestly i am glad i realized and dont play that game anymore. Although I really wanna collect all the cars still to this day.

These Thor interview are so good, the synergy seems to work between the four of you. What was the game Thor mentioned, that used the fairy model? Can't seem to find it on the app store..

One of the better ways to do a one-time payment model for a mobile game that bypasses the aversion to pay-up-front - Pay to Unlock. Peglin's mobile release did this. The game was free, you could download and play the Forest (floor 1). You could play, you could have fun, and you could see if you liked the game. Then, once you already had a good experience, you could say "Yeah, this is worth 10 bucks," pay inside the game, and unlock the whole thing. I think that's a fantastic consumer-friendly way to go about things, because you're saying your game is worth 10 bucks, but you're letting the public play the game first and decide for themselves, instead of putting that barrier to entry that PuF creates.

Play in airplane mode and if the game can't run on this mode don't play it.

I should preface this by saying that I will and have paid up front for mobile games and applications; it is my preference. I very well could be one of the people who wouldn't buy a game on mobile, but would on Steam for $3, and at least in my case it is no fault of the developer and is a perception issue, but not exactly the one Thor mentions. For me it specifically comes down to the physical experience. Touch screen controls make me feel so disconnected that it actually reduces the overall engagement and satisfaction I get from the game. In that way a game on Steam does have more value to me than it does on mobile because I enjoy it more. When I do play games on mobile (including emulators) it's almost exclusively turn based ones where the control interface matters a little less. Like I mentioned before, it's not the dev's fault, though I'm not entirely sure how best to remedy it. I have heard Apple has really good haptics in some of their products, and maybe that could eventually find its way into Android phones? I have carried a mini controller with me before and that makes the experience better, but it's really not ideal. I know there are gaming phones with dedicated buttons, but I don't want gaming to be the specific reason I buy a phone. I don't mind bulk on a phone, so in my mind the ideal solution would be some kind of phone case that was also a game controller. I have seen some things like that, but none that quite fit what I have in mind.

see that's one of the reasons I've stuck with hoyoverse, Genshin Impact specifically. Mixed feelings on Honkai but those are personal. I've had my frustrations with the gacha, but I've never once felt like my time was being abused. The game was fun, and not trying to overload me with ads. I do play it mostly on PC but even when I had it on my phone for a bit - the on-the-go was nice but MAN did it eat a chunk of space that I just didn't want to give up lol - I did not have a bad experience. Its one of the few cases where it has legitimately felt like 'game and players first' and because I enjoy the game and its characters, I'm still playing to this day, as a f2p. Odds are, once I have a steady income and don't have to worry about things, so long as their business model hasn't changed I'd be willing to drop a few bucks to support them.

I find it rather sad to see so many games that are just wrapped ad players. From my understanding there are a handful of bigger organizations that bulk-create these tiny games which are just for the sake of ad-revenue.

You hear this You tube 💀

One of my favorite mobile games to date is Hoplite. It's a really simply turn-based roguelike, that's completely free to play with minimal ads (as far as I remember). The gameplay is really solid overall. There's also an option to pay $3, no ads forever, AND it unlocks 1000+ pre-made challenge levels where you have to beat a map with a specific build. No other microtransactions period. It respects the player, and absolutely earned my $3.

I will always remember my first experience with mobile gaming. It was I think about 5-6 years ago from the time of this comment. It was this very enjoyable slot machine game with fantasy theme, so this parts all forest and fairies and woo I'm winning this is cool, and now this part is winter themed awesome but uhp I busted out. Game gives me a tiny bit of gold to keep playing each day.....but I enjoyed this for a first time mobile gaming. I'll go ahead and buy this 20$ game card thing, see how that works, see what I get for it. Buy card, put it into game, got a nice big bunch of gold, went through all of it in less than an hour and back to the tiny daily amount. I uninstalled the game and have NEVER played a mobile game since. *shrugs*

I think if a game were upfront and honest about their ads, then forced watching could be acceptable. Like if it told the player there will be an ad every X minutes/hours of playtime, the player could decide whether it's worth it to keep playing or not. Maybe with an option to watch an ad even earlier at a time of the player's choosing, which would reset the timer and give the player control over the precise timing of the ad. And maybe also the option to buy the game with a one-time payment and never watch an ad again.

I also really like games that have a no-ads purchase in the shop, that way the ad supported version feels like a type of demo. Though I have learned to look at how deeply the ad experience is baked into a game. It's a little uncanny to be playing a game without ads hunting for the places where ads should be in order to get bonuses or even straight up progression requirements

The only PuF mobile game I've bought was Star Realms, which is just a mobile version of a physical deck building card game that I like. There's no ads, ever, and I can play Star Realms on the go, at any time, from anywhere. If I don't have internet access I can only play the solo stuff but with internet access I can play against other people who also have the mobile version of the game. Beyond Star Realms, I have played a few mobile games that really did the ad thing well. One ad every 5 or 6 levels with a pretty cheap mxt to never get another ad again. Clay Jam was the best of these that I ever played, but sadly it got taken down by the dev years ago and to my knowledge has never been available again. I miss that game.

If the mobile Game forces ads on me in anyway I don't want to play it. I've found games that I've loved to play, but if you didn't watch their ads then you're losing hours of time, or they'll just make you watch an ad if you dont watch one within 5 minutes of the game.

Good mobile games I've found that are little or no ads. Most square enix ports. Loved finding and playing DQ1 again. 99 bricks - tetris like 2112TD - tower defense, worth every penny, survival mode adds lots of replay value as you try to beat your best score, not easy even on normal diff Magic Research - incremental game, lots of replay value due to a variant on new game plus, has a pretty cool discord community and the sequel is being worked on. Plague Inc - very popular, not going to explain it Railbound - puzzle game, very difficult, still havent beaten every stage I Love Hue - ad optional or buyout i cant remember, lots of puzzles, you get very good at recognizing different shades and hues with enough practice Pocket city 2 - city builder Dungeon Warfare - very hard tower defense game, good luck Refactory - similar to Factorio, better on tablet because of lots of small clickies Very Little Nightmares - very fun horror/puzzle game Hopefully other people will reply and add to the list.

With "fairy" ads the issue quite often is, that reward from watching them is smaller than you would acquire by actually playing the game during the time you spend watching the advertisement. This is as bad as forced ads, as you kind of scam player with poorly optimized reward pool.

As much as I personally don't play many games at all in the mobile space, I would be surprised if there were a better value proposition in the Pay Up Front model than Stardew Valley. The sheer amount of content and genuinely excellent gameplay mechanics in that game for a mere $5 is buck wild.

I played a bit of Honkai Starrail and didn't like how additional characters are locked behind random draws. I get that I don't need those characters to complete anything and that the game isn't inundating me with ads, but that single thing got me to walk away from the game. I don't like the idea of having to grind or purchase currency to get just a chance to unlock a character I think is cool. I'd much rather just pay a small premium to get them and not go through the random BS. If they had that and maybe have the gacha part as potentially cheaper alternative, I might have kept playing.

I've bought all of the games from a certain developer/studio on mobile and Steam, because I wanted to support the developer/studio, because I watch* them on RU-vid *well, I used to watch them more frequently, but haven't in a while. Interests change, life happens, don't always have the time or want to spend the time watching longer form content

My Little Universe, I paid for no Ads on mobile, because I liked the gameplay, and I later bought it on Steam. I still play int occasionally on both platforms. I'm glad the game exists on both Steam and Mobile though!

I have had a good experience with Yostar games as well. I’ve played Azur Lane since launch never spent a dime, never saw an ad. Got an occasional take a survey request in in game mail. Only pay stuff is mostly cosmetic. Exceptions are more character slots or oath rings that give a minor boost, which is only necessary for the optional PvP. And they hand out enough paid currency and rings every year to cover those of you’re frugal.

Cost-Benefit analysis but the cost is the players annoyance at the monetization and the benefit is how long you can keep them before annoyance causes them to leave. WoW has been tap-dancing on that line for years.

I commented this below in response to another individual, but it's worth reposting as it's own comment: My personal all-time favorite mobile game is a deckbuilding roguelike called "Dawncaster." It's $4.99 and it's hands-down better than every single other deckbuilder i've played, mobile or otherwise. It's constantly updated by extremely active devs that understand their own game very well, and just the base game will keep you occupied for hundreds of hours if you care to let it. They frequently release massive updates that are free for everyone, and every once in a blue moon they release a paid DLC (usually 3-5 bucks) which add a r i d i c u l o u s amount of content and variety to the game. I've played 500+ hours of it and i'm still constantly learning new interactions between cards and abilities. Just for some brief comparison, using Slay the Spire as a point of comparison: StS: -4 character classes -1 basic attack type shared between all characters -3 stages before final boss -simplistic card interactions, not much depth -art is unimpressive/low quality / lack of polish -ascension difficulty scaling is implemented in an uninteresting way Dawncaster RPG: +6 character classes +8-9 unique basic weapons PER CLASS +5-6 stages before final boss, and each stage has 3 area options with vastly different experiences to offer +literally dozens of unique keyword mechanics and card interactions +base game + all DLC is worth less than StS (100% worth it btw) +more varied/nuanced ways to scale difficulty of runs +art/animations that won't make your eyes bleed and yes this post is very long but I've been scouring the mobile market for a decade and this is the only game that's stayed on every device I own since it released - go play it.

I prefer the demo -> full game unlock model or the ads -> ad-free unlock. My problem with Pirate's preferred model is I don't have the level of trust necessary to presume I don't HAVE to watch the ad for my optimal experience.

Don't be showing me a 30 second ad when I'm taking a dump. You're wasting my life.

The Sonic Forces Speed Battle Running game on mobile is doing this. That's why I'm still playing it. It's also fun game.

Siren can be fine in a single player game, where it's really pay to progress faster but you don't have an advantage over other players. Things like a single player idle game where something takes 3 hours to craft so you can either come back in 3 hours or pay with some gems. Also if I like a game I just do pay to remove ads. I treat the ad version as a fully playable demo and the ad-free version as the paid game.

Payed for the ace attorney trilogy on mobile a while ago. Honestly really enjoyed it. But I couldn't imagine playing a game with adds in it.

Back in the day I paid $20 upfront for Final Fantasy Dimensions. It was 100% worth it.

This is why Path of Exile has 1800 of my dollars. Free entry, they treat me like a king so i treat them like kings in return.

The only games I spend money on are boardgame adaptations that are pay once. Or puzzle games that give you some levels then you buy a level pack for the rest of the game. Again pay once... no ads.

I play the ad and set my phone down. It is like Thor is in my head.

I use a DNS on my phone that is designed to block ads, both on browser and in mobile game apps

I'm a bit confused about 6:46, I can't remember any ad ever showing up in that game, but him right after saying he had all the characters unlocked seems really weird. That doesn't seem possible. Personally I enjoy the mobile game option of get the game for free, with ads, but you can in game then buy the option to remove the ads. This way I can trial the game, see if I like the mechanics and then make a choice. Iirc Angry Birds did this.

Pay a small amount to no longer get ads. It works the same as PuF, but you don't actually PuF. I like this model a lot, as I get to see if I enjoy the game before paying, and still have my time respected.

Steam feels like a safe place to read a review on a mobile game. And, I can refund the BS.

I like fairy ads also. Games hold me longer when they have those.

The model for mobile I want to see is the "pay once I know it's fun" model. If your game is fun, let me pay a small one time fee to not ever see an ad again and give me an in-game reward like some currency or whatever.

Gotta love that Freemium Gaming! /s

what about the games that give you prologue/first 10 levels and then unlock access to full game + no ads?

Small game Disc Golf Valley is free to play and introduced ads for revenue (they were very upfront about it) They added an option to buy out of ads forever for 5.99

What if after half an hour of play you are given a choice of paying a modest amount to not watch ad, or watch ads. (The first ad isfor removing ads.)

I have a few games where the Ads are not needed but you know sometimes there are like nice bonuses that yes given time i can have them but ads get me there faster and if i can buy the no ads pac and like it is decent price and the game is fun for me, i take that, if i cant then i would say i uninstall becaus even if game is fun, im not having fun when i need to watch adds all the time. so yea i agree, but i would add the remove adds for money button. thats fine for me also. that is respecting my time.

3$ on Steam is one of the cheaper games. 3$ on mobile is one of the most expensive games. Shouldn't matter when it's the same game, but the expectations are vastly different.

The surprising thing for me is... Theres ads on honkai star rail? I played hoyoverse games for a long time. Admitedly not honkai star rail, mostly genshin impact (at least 500 hours in genshin impact) and I have not seen a single ad inside the game. Same when I played honkai star rail. I have legit never seen an ad on there. And I probably spent 50 hours in that game.

Can we get a list of good mobile games? It's so hard to find a good list and not one put together by someone who just throws new games in and calls it a list

I spend more on Genshin because I don't have to. When Solo Leveling Arise came out, I was so disgusted of how they pushed so much ads that was WAY overpriced (how it felt anyway), I uninstalled within 3 days. In conclusion: Take my money Hoyoverse!

Thor derailing the whole talk to talk about monetization strays with nothing to do with Resi 7

Is there a way to identify fairy-ad games? would it be possible to have developers add the ad type as a search filter tag?

I got a 45 minute ad on RU-vid the other day. That’s not an ad, that’s an episode.

Even if it's the exact same game but on PC instead of mobile, it's not the same. One is on a tiny tablet that heats up and runs out of power and I have push notifications interrupting, the other is on PC and I can control with a keyboard and mouse and not a finger in front of what I'm clicking on, and maybe it has Steam achievements and other bits and bobs I've already got more investment in. Superior platform. You're paying for the ability to play the game on a better platform.

The other thing to consider is platform bias. I will not play phone games or console games. I will play computer games which is why putting it on steam may get my cash where as mobile will not.

How does this channel only have less than 3k subs?

"the moment I see an add I uninstall"' so you basically play 0 mobile game? because 99.9% of mobile game as ads

then there is the monetization system called diablo immortal

Bro how much longer are you gonna milk thor for😭😭

Pac-Man is an adfarm.

Why not buy games with an upfront price, assuming the price is fair off course. What’s the issue there?

To be honest, I don't value mobile games as less then the desktop ones, I just don't like playing on mobile, it's very poor experience for me. I'm used to having a mouse and a keyboard and that's a deal breaker for me if I have to fat-finger shit on my tiny little pos device :D

i like faerie ads for p2w items too. but in games where theres a leaderboard but no actual pvp. im going to spend 0$. but if they give me like a 1$ fun thing. why not?

I'd also say that, pay2win is out of the door and that's ok but payforcosmetic would be ok as long as it does not affect the game

i hate when you first download a game and the first thing is add pops up before you even play any of the game i delete these games instantly

new here, which of these people does this channel belong to?

the reason iOS games don't make that much is because it loses to Android in sales, as Android phones make up more than 2/3 of phones used worldwide. and the kinds of people who are interested in Resident Evil games cannot often afford an iPhone. i should also point out that smartphone games are seldom as good as their console counterparts, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who's ever played them.

What is the game he mentioned? A-gank?

Sure, Mihoyo could be way more eggregious iwth their monetization and it should be respected that they're not, but they also don't need it at all because they prey on sad lonely individuals who then flush half of each paycheck into it. On one hand, it feels to me kinda crazy that they even showed Thor that one ad, they really didn't have to, on the other though, financial stability is something everyone is responsible for themselves, save for specific cases.

So like, you only are ok with supporting the developer if you feel generous that day? That's such an entitled mindset. What about the simple decision of "do I value this game? Then I put up with adds however they come because it's free". Like you playing the game and refusing to support the dev is dog shit selfish

fairy ads are p2w, time is money. if something has fairy ads i uninstall immediately. i'd rather spend money than watch an ad lol

this video somehow doesn't have an option for like's or dislike's

Isn't this the guy that vehemently defends live service games and their predatory practices.