The Free-to-Play (F2P) model has been very disruptive to the operations of the gaming sector especially that which operates in the mobile space. Rather than request a one-time fees for the game, game developers instead offer the game for free and utilize in-game items, advertisements or subscription fees in monetization. This model has been very successful especially in mobile gaming as people are now used to downloading the apps for free, and then once in the game, willing to pay for more features, for skins, or even in-game money. Fortnite, League of Legends, and Genshin Impact are some examples of the games which have made it to the global level due to this model of putting effort in keeping the players and taxing them over time through their in-app purchases.
The F2P model works by giving the core experience free of charge and provides additional paid options to complete one’s experience. For example, in Fortnite, players get to buy skins and emotes which do not affect the player’s performance in the game but relieves the players of the desire to personalize their avatars in the game. This kind of monetization helps to extend the life of the game by making people pay for ostentatious or social aspects of the game, without compromising the game itself excessively, and therefore has been quite effective. Genshin Impact offers a different variation of the F2P model by employing gacha mechanics whereby it is necessary to pay in order to gain chances to obtain new rare and highly valuable characters or items (Zhu & Wang, 2022).
Retention is one of the key pillars for any successful F2P game. Developers do this by making regular updates, introducing new content and hosting live events to make sure the game does not get stale. To illustrate, in the game Fortnite, new seasons with a different storyline are regularly introduced and time restricted missions make it so that players must log in regularly. It has been established that retention capabilities of players are proportional with the amount of commitment the game has to providing new content and reason for the players to socialize within the in-game community. This strategy creates urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out) and hence players will do in-game shopping for time limited offers.
“Free to play” (F2P) games tend to utilize social proof and peer pressure as a chief motivator for expenditure. For instance, friends buying certain items or providing social incentives for buying items (e.g. gifting systems) gives players an incentive to either catch up or even outpace their friends. This system is appealing psychologically as they play into one’s desire to compare themselves with others and compete. Additionally, presence of leaderboards, guilds or clans, etc are other motivating factors that make the players spend on in app purchases to gain or retain competitive edge or social standing in the game. As Clark, 2014 has put it, ‘selling what the player wants to enhance their experience’ is one of the basic guiding principles in the F2P model. Gamers develop this understanding that the game is not a product but rather a service since the development is ineluctably ongoing and there are players to give comments on the issues (Kumar & Smith, 2023).