The Data Behind Social Gaming: Understanding Player Behavior and Monetization 

The gaming industry is one that keeps on growing. With technology constantly improving the way we game and making it easier than ever for people to get involved, we are seeing a huge boom in the industry.

There is a game out there for everyone to enjoy and a way to play to suit everyone. From the traditional gaming consoles, to playing a game on your mobile phone app, there’s always a way for you to play your favorite games.

A huge part of the gaming industry right now is social gaming. This is a game that is played through a social media app, combining two of the world’s favorite things to do on their phones.

More and more social games are being invented all the time and they certainly have taken the world by storm. We’re going to be looking into how these games work in terms of monetization, and how that is impacted by players’ behaviors. 

What monetization options are there in social gaming? 

In-app ads

As with most online games or services, the advertisements you have at the side of the screen or within the app itself are how the game makes most of its money.

There is a particular amount of time that a player must spend on the app to see the advert, and then they will see them periodically throughout their gaming time. 

All successful gaming companies will spend a significant amount on advertising; the competition within the gambling industry in Canada has resulted in marketing budgets being increased year on year.

One of the methods used by the best casino apps in Canada is advertising on successful third-party social gaming sites. This gives them exposure while also providing healthy profits from the providers of the games. 

Microtransactions

Microtransactions are the main way that social gaming companies make money. This is where you have a virtual payment in the game, but you use real money in real life to pay for it.

You might have to buy coins in a game in order to access a certain level or to get some kind of extra skill that doesn’t come with the game. You would need to pay for this in the real world, with real money. 

These microtransactions work perfectly for social gaming companies as each transaction is very small. There are no huge payments and people don’t feel like they’re spending much real money in order to access these elements of the game.

They also make sure that the game isn’t quite as good without these microtransactions making people more likely to purchase them. 

Subscriptions 

A lot of social games will offer a subscription for players to use in order to get access to certain games and other perks.

Everyone loves being able to get access to premium content, so this model works really well for social gaming companies. People know that they might get access to better bonuses or have exclusive access to certain games, so they’re more likely to sign up. 

This option also gives players the option to get ad-free gaming, which will make their gaming experience smoother. Players will often opt for an ad-free experience, and then the subscription fee takes over from the money that gaming companies would receive from the ad revenue.

These subscriptions are typically quite cheap to gain access to and are easy to adapt to the player’s needs, which makes them even more popular.

Being signed up for a flexible subscription is always more desirable for players as they know they can adapt it to their needs. This makes people more likely to sign up as players feel like they have more control over their money.

Player behavior in social gaming

Social gamers tend to be in the younger generations as they are the ones who are most likely to be on their phones and on social media. The interactivity that is encouraged through social gaming makes it a great way for people to make friends and keep in touch with old ones.

There are many rewards within social games that will impact the gamers behaviors. For example, winning points and rewards for completing certain levels is only going to make players want to continue with the game and play on until they reach the next reward. 

Being able to gain access to virtual items or currency also makes players want to play. We see this a lot of the time in social games that are linked to social media, and you can showcase your winnings to other people as well.

This is more likely to get others involved and add to the revenue being made by social gaming companies. 

If you’re a social gamer, what makes you want to continue to play?