Free-to-play mobile game developers are always striving to catch those whales who will spend big money on in-app purchases. But how much can a game make? A new report by Slice Intelligence reveals that players generally like to spend an average of $87 on in-app purchases. That’s only $5 behind what console and PC players pay, including for downloadable content.
However, some games are bigger draws than others—a lot bigger. “The mobile game with the largest average in-app spend is Game of War, where players spend an average of $550 to ensure their army conquers the competition. What do Game of War gamers buy? Crates of gold, with the average item price hovering at $52, the company said.
Other notable games that have high in-app spending per player include Summoners War ($272.41), Big Fish Casino: Free Slots ($232.67), Castle Clash ($202.26) and Brave Frontier ($156.20).
That adds up to a lot of big business for mobile developers. Minecraft, which is at the bottom of the list, brings in $6.50 per player. That’s still significant revenue, considering how there are millions of people playing it.
Slice also discusses “whales” in the free-to-play market, which comprises 10 percent of players, but makes up 90 percent of overall sales. “Further listening to the statistical sonar reveals that the top one percent, the ‘white whales,’ of mobile gamers account for an astonishing 58 percent of the mobile gaming revenue from in-app purchases,” the company noted. “This trend doesn’t occur among traditional games, where roughly 28 percent of the audience accounts for 90 percent of game sales.”
As shown in the chart, mobile game spending almost matches with the traditional game industry, with about $86.50 on average compared to $91.58. It’s very likely mobile spending could surpass traditional games in about a year or two.
The report also shows how consumers are spread across three different categories:
- 43 percent of gamers only buy mobile games.
- 37.8 percent only purchase traditional console and PC games.
- 19.2 percent buy games for mobile, console and PC platforms.
