The amount of money I made publishing 3 mobile games
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the speaker shares their experience developing mobile games for iOS and Android, detailing the challenges of the highly saturated market. They discuss using monetization strategies like ads, in-app purchases, and working with publishers, but found limited success. Despite minimal revenue, the speaker highlights valuable lessons learned, including improving technical skills and gaining business knowledge. While the mobile game market offers broad accessibility, the speaker advises other developers to pursue other platforms if their goal is to make money, and they plan to shift focus to PC game development in the future.
Takeaways
- 😀 Mobile game development can be a costly and time-consuming venture with minimal financial returns if you're not in a saturated market or featured by platforms.
- 😀 The mobile game market is highly saturated, making it difficult for new games to stand out without massive advertising budgets or platform features.
- 😀 Monetization methods for mobile games include ads, in-app purchases, and working with publishers – but success isn't guaranteed.
- 😀 Google AdMob's ad revenue system requires a minimum threshold of $100 before payment, which is hard to achieve for smaller developers.
- 😀 In-app purchases, like removing ads, can generate income but may not be profitable due to platform fees, such as Apple’s 30% cut.
- 😀 Publishers might not be interested in small games unless they can prove strong metrics or potential. It often takes more than just having a good game to attract attention.
- 😀 Learning Unity and game development skills can be a valuable outcome, even if the financial rewards from the games themselves are limited.
- 😀 The mobile game industry has a “binary system” – either you make a fortune or fail to make anything at all.
- 😀 The iOS platform is more challenging to publish for than Android due to stricter guidelines and higher fees.
- 😀 While the mobile game market is tough for new developers, iOS and Android platforms are excellent for getting your game into the hands of many users quickly and easily.
Q & A
Why did the creator initially start making mobile games?
-The creator was motivated by two main reasons: the low cost of publishing on the Android platform ($30 developer fee) and the potential to make significant revenue, inspired by successful games like Flappy Bird.
What monetization strategies did the creator use for their mobile games?
-The creator used three primary monetization strategies: advertisements through Google AdMob (interstitial ads), in-app purchases to remove ads (on iOS), and attempting to work with mobile game publishers to promote their games.
How did the creator's experience with working with publishers go?
-The creator reached out to several publishers, but most were not interested. They did manage to run a test with a few, where publishers advertised the games on social media, but the revenue generated was very low.
What was the main reason for the creator’s games not generating revenue?
-The creator's games failed mainly because the mobile game market became oversaturated. Without significant advertising or platform promotion, the games struggled to gain visibility or organic downloads.
What does the creator think about the state of the mobile game market?
-The creator believes the mobile game market is oversaturated. Success is typically reliant on heavy advertising or being featured by platforms, which leaves little room for organic discovery of new games.
What game does the creator highlight as an example of success in the mobile game market?
-The creator mentions Alto's Adventure and its sequel, Alto's Odyssey, as examples of successful mobile games that used a traditional monetization model, charging a one-time flat fee instead of relying on ads or in-app purchases.
What lessons did the creator gain from their mobile game development experience?
-The creator learned valuable technical skills, like Unity game development, as well as business skills related to publishing and working with analytics. They also learned how to finish and publish projects, adding them to their portfolio.
Why does the creator believe creating profitable mobile games is difficult?
-The creator compares creating profitable mobile games to winning the lottery. Success is binary: either the game makes nothing, or it makes millions, with little in between, making it a highly competitive and unpredictable venture.
What advice does the creator give to other developers considering mobile game development?
-The creator advises that if your goal is to make money, mobile games may not be the best route. However, if you're looking to get a game in the hands of users easily and have a fun project, mobile platforms like iOS and Android can still be a good choice.
What is the creator’s future plan regarding game development?
-The creator plans to focus on PC game development and, if their games gain success, they hope to eventually port them to consoles.
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