Are Free to Play Games good for the gaming industry?

Free-to-play games are improving the accessibility of gaming, allowing new titles to be reached by a wider audience and eliminating the hurdle of high price points. They can also be beneficial to developers by offering more opportunities for players to make in-game purchases. This has a positive effect on players, developers and studios alike and can be a great way to develop an interest in games and encourage players to spend more in the long run.

Increased Accessibility

Free-to-play games are a great way of increasing the accessibility of gaming. One of the main factors that hinder the accessibility of gaming as a form of entertainment is the price point. With new-release games coming in at around $60 each for every console, and the consoles themselves costing hundreds of dollars, gaming is not an accessible hobby for everyone. Although mobile games are becoming increasingly popular too, they often require a modern and up-to-date device.

However, the introduction of free gaming can be a way to make gaming platforms significantly more accessible. Even if customers are still paying for the consoles they are playing on, free gameplay takes away a huge cost for the player. Free gaming can either be in the form of demos, free versions of games or games which are free but include in-game purchases such as Fortnite.

Demos have become less popular over the last several years, however, the Nintendo Switch is one console that has introduced a comeback for gaming demos. They have released free trials for several of their biggest new titles, such as Toshi’s Crafted World, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and Bravely Default II.

Offering players a demo of a game can be a great way to let potential players try out a game to help decide if they want to spend money on it. It has been proven to earn the trust of players as well as expand the reach of a game, with those who would not ordinarily want to play the game trying it out since it costs nothing. This is similar to the results shown by free versions of games, which have been found to increase the market reach of games. This can be proven in anything from mobile versions of big console titles to casinos offering free versions of blackjack online such as casino gaming platform 32Red.

Profitable for Developers

Studies investigating the profitability of different types of digital gaming have shown that free-to-play games which offer in-game purchases are generating the largest percentage of revenue in digital gaming, at almost 80% of all digital gaming revenue. This figure includes digital versions of PC and console games, but the market is dominated by free-to-play games, mostly through mobile devices.

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One of the most famously successful free-to-play games is Fortnite: Battle Royale. Fortnite is a cross-platform game which is free across mobile, PC and consoles, however, players have the option to purchase a battle pass as well as in-game cosmetic items, all using real money. Despite the majority of these purchases being aesthetic improvements to the game rather than impacting actual gameplay, players of the game have spent around $4.3 billion in microtransactions so far.

The free-to-play system means that games are increasingly accessible, which in turn allows more players to access them. This means that the game will be reaching wider audiences, so the likelihood of players choosing to make in-game purchases increases too. This increases sales for companies, and also means that the developers have amassed a wider audience, more of whom may be interested in purchasing full-price titles at a later date.