Why Most Free-to-Play Games Fail to Monetize Beyond Their Top 5% of Players

Written by Darius Misiukevicius | Published 2025/08/19
Tech Story Tags: game-monetization | app-monetization | free-to-play | background-monetization | passive-monetization | game-monetization-strategies | mobile-game-revenue | free-to-play-monetization

TLDR Free-to-play games rely too heavily on IAPs and ads, leaving up to 95% of players unmonetized. With falling ad returns and limited in-app purchases, developers need new revenue streams. Background monetization—lightweight, privacy-compliant, and non-intrusive—offers a way to capture value from non-spending players while preserving gameplay and retention. The future of F2P lies in layering monetization strategies, not betting on just whales and ads.via the TL;DR App
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Written by Darius Misiukevicius | Project Director at Honeygain SDK & expert in app monetization.
Published by HackerNoon on 2025/08/19
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