Scientific Revenue Publishes Mobile Game Monetization Best Practices Report

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - June 28, 2016) - Scientific Revenue, a dynamic pricing and revenue optimization service, today released its first mobile game monetization report summarizing best practices of top publishers and genres, with follow-on recommendations by Scientific Revenue's team of economists and analysts. Click here to request a free copy.

"We've seen a lot of uncertainty around pricing strategies over the years -- many developers simply don't have a solid feel for what works and what doesn't," said Scientific Revenue CEO William Grosso. "This report is a survey of what people are really doing in their games, and gives a solid baseline for IAP pricing strategies."

Mobile game revenue is expected to reach $51 billion across all app stores this year, and by 2020, exceed $101 billion globally (App Annie), with most top games generating revenue through free-to-play in-app purchases (or IAP). However, pricing strategies vary widely from game to game, and remain a topic of much secrecy and controversy. Scientific Revenue's report draws on surveys from a diverse range of leading game developers and publishers -- most with millions or hundreds of thousands of monthly active users -- to highlight dozens of notable findings and recommendations, including:

• Virtual currency for IAP is nearly ubiquitous: Among developers who use IAP (almost all surveyed), nearly 88% monetize by selling virtual in-game currency, with the vast majority reporting Good to Great results.
• Engage in more country-specific pricing: Only a minority of developers surveyed adjust or experiment with IAP pricing based on geography -- both of which Scientific Revenue strongly recommends in order to best capture large markets in developing regions where Google and Apple have introduced special pricing tiers.
• Experiment with holiday/weekend IAP sales: While 28-38% of developer respondents don't engage in weekend or holiday-themed IAP sales, nearly 60% of those who do report that such sales yield Good or Great results.
• Revisit pricing post-launch: Surprisingly, 25% of respondents set IAP prices in the design or Alpha phase, and do not revisit prices post-launch. Scientific Revenue recommends revisiting prices on a regular basis after the game has been launched, so that prices can be adjusted, tuned, and optimized based on user activity.
• Optimize prices according to player: Only 40% of developers sell IAP at different prices to different players. Internally, Scientific Revenue sees revenue increases of 20 to 40% through targeted dynamic pricing of IAP.

You can get a complete Mobile Game Monetization Best Practices Report, including participant survey results and recommendations by clicking here.

This report is one of many that Scientific Revenue plans to release on monetization and pricing economics in coming quarters. Click here to request future reports.

ABOUT SCIENTIFIC REVENUE

Founded by a team of game industry veterans, economists, and data analysts, Scientific Revenue is dedicated to maximizing the money mobile developers make from their creative work. With an SDK already integrated in games with over 100 million total downloads, Scientific Revenue's dynamic pricing engine for in-app purchases typically boosts payment conversions by 15 percent, and overall revenue by 20-40%. Visit us online at www.scientificrevenue.com. Follow us on Twitter @SciRevenue.