The Free2Play business model is regarded by many game studios as the Holy Grail. Core gamers, on the other hand, see it as a rip-off. Now there are two different opinions from the industry.
Klaas Kersting, CEO of the mobile games company flaregames, believes that Free2Play is still successful. It is not the business model, but the quality of the games that is crucial for a company’s success. However, it is very complex to develop a Free2Play game, as one must invest much more in areas like analytics, monetization, product management, and performance marketing. Therefore, the model is not very suitable for young, emerging game companies because one needs a lot of experience in these areas. However, the games must also be continuously developed to keep players engaged. Then one can be successful—even if one is not constantly in the top 10 of the most played online games.
Thomas Friedmann, CEO of the online games company Funatics, sees it differently. The company, founded in 1988, which became known through games like The Settlers and Cultures, has relied on the Free2Play model in recent years and has also achieved some successes with it. For example, with the browser game Cultures Online. However, they are now withdrawing from this market and plan to return to the classic Buy2Play model. Thomas Friedmann explains that it is simply a gamble to be successful with a Free2Play game. One cannot plan what revenues will be generated. Developing a Free2Play game is like playing the lottery. Moreover, it has become so that gamers are no longer willing to constantly face paywalls and have to spend money repeatedly for various contents. It has become immensely difficult to be successful with a Free2Play game, as the top positions in the market are occupied by large competitors.
Both Klaas Kersting and Thomas Friedmann believe that the market will soon self-regulate. Many providers of Free2Play games will disappear, leaving only those who can truly convince with their games and the model.
Just yesterday, we reported on the statement of a Gameforge employee that the B2P model is associated with significant risks and that the F2P model would therefore be better. Interestingly, also in this context is a F2P study by SuperData, which states that revenues from Free2Play models will increase in the coming years (at least for the MMOs):
