Hey Guys, Is anyone here willing to share some sales/download numbers? It would be nice to know what kind of freemium (ads + IAP) revenue you guys are seeing with your games. I'm currently debating if I should go paid or freemium with the game I'm building… any advice on this appreciated. Thanks, Dan
0 for me as I have not published yet. However, I plan to go free + IAP (e.g. multiple characters or power ups) + ads + rewarded video ads for most of my games, as most of the buildbox community is already doing. Whereas some of my games will have all of those monetization features/strategies present, some of my games won't need all of it and might be ruined by it. For example, I am planning to eventually make a really nice looking runner style game, but I am not sure that I will risk ruining it with power ups or collectable coins. Also, in terms of being featured, getting downloads, and sitting at the top of the apple app store, the most successful buildbox game to date (that we know of) is probably @Florian Porkert 's ball jump, which did not use any collectable coins or power ups. Ball jump might not have been as good with collectable items and powerups. Florian could update it with new characters (maybe he has, not sure), but any game designer in this position has to ask, "If I do this, will it add value to the gameplay or risk ruining the value it already has?" Personally, I like the way ball jump is, so I might not update it with multiple characters, but maybe I just currently don't see ways that adding multiple characters to ball jump would enhance it (and maybe Florian does, who knows). I think one's monetization strategy used depends on the game and what is essential to the game's gameplay value.
A well monetized freemium game that is sticky can get .08 or better per install. This means every 10 installs you've made more than you would on a single paid app after Apple's cut. From my experience conversion rates on free apps are much higher than 10x their paid counterparts. Also, if you are thinking of going the publisher route most all of them have stopped taking paid games for this reason.
Hi Dan, You can analyze the market to get an answer. Simply have a look at the Top Crossing Charts. How many of the top 100 apps are paid apps? And how many of them are free apps? It think that freemium is the winner @Jamie: Well, I already finished an update for Ball Jump. It will be published soon. And yes, we will have coins and multiple characters with some nice special surprises
Interesting feedback, thanks all. I guess that leads me onto my next question… what % does a publisher typically take? Ballpark figure is fine. I'm guessing 15% or more…
HA! Trey mentioned that Publishers regularly take 70%!!!!!! You should bite his hand off for the new Buildbox publishing offer if you get accepted.
@AndyG I'm not aware of the "Buildbox publishing offer" - got a link to more information? Also 70% is crazy talk.
Dan. I'll need to leave that to Trey to connect with you as I don't want to step on any toes and/or get any info wrong.
@dan_counsell BB publishing was offering a 50/50 pub deal and will only be publishing BB apps. The norm for other publishers seems your cut to average anywhere between 20% - 40%, depends who you sign with.
ah well as Phill has jumped in here's the email Trey posted on Sep 14. Hello All, As you've probably heard, we've now launched a publishing company here ONLY for our customers. We will be meeting with Apple on a regular basis and showing off games our customers have created. Here's how the submission process works: 1. Once a game you've created is ready for publishing, send an email to support@buildbox.com with the following: A) THREE of your best screenshots and B) A fast gameplay video 2. We will review each and every submission and respond within 48 business hours if it's a candidate 3. Make sure to check out our Color Palette Design Document if you are struggling with art design. Also, remember to model and improve art design, even if you are creating 100% new gameplay. Right now pixel games, minimal games, isometric games and very high quality illustrated games (like LIMBO) are very popular. Announcing Buildbox Publishing Hey Guys and Gals, Got some big news for you: 1. We are about to launch Buildbox Publishing in 30 days 2. I am sitting down with the Apple Feature team at their offices to discuss the line-up 3. If you are working on something awesome, I want to show it to them << THE BREAK DOWN >> Buildbox Publishing will be our new platform for releasing customer's games. We will be a high-end publisher only releasing the best and have extremely competitive 50/50 revshare terms so you can make a lot of money with us. I'll be doing internal promotions for each game we publish including emailing to our 200,000 person email list, broadcasting to our 70,000+ social media followers and more. Also, what's even cooler is we've apparently made an impression on Apple because 15 Buildbox games have been featured this year. They are excited about Buildbox Publishing and want me to come give them a demo of some of your games. << THE NEXT STEPS >> Here's what you need to do if you're interested in working with us: 1. Send me screenshots and a short video of a game you are working on (no voiceover, just gameplay). 2. If you already have released a game that did not do well, and you feel like it's a featured-worthy game, then you can send us a link as well. If selected, we will have you remove from store if we publish. 3. IMPORTANT: Please do not send us anything you don't think is truly great. It needs to be Phases/Line Zen quality, though it does NOT have to be minimal. That's it. Just reply with a short video and screenshots of your game and we will be in touch if we feel like it's a good fit! Thanks, Trey Smith Founder Buildbox
I've published with a number of guys - and the split has ranged greatly. Some in my favor some not and some down the line. At the end of the day you have to weigh up what you and the publisher can bring to the table and strike a deal. Also don't be afraid to negotiate. If it's a TOP publisher with a high success rate and multiple historic features - probably just bite their hands off
Getting back on topic, for a game freemium all the way. And looking forward to the Ball Jump update :-D
Have to agree with most that Freemium is definitely the way to go and I'd strongly recommend ( depending on the gameplay and mechanics ) some kind of rewarded video - This could be unlockable characters or level skips for instance. These have performed extremely well for us and players do not, in general, seem to mind these as nearly as much as standard interstitals - For the interstitals, ensure you're super low on show count, every 6-8 is usually best and if it's a video, best to have it skippable on a low second count. For bigger games, you really want to see if you can attract IAP purchases, but this is super tough in most cases. That said, Apple is definitely starting to promote paid games way more in the last few months and is, in my opinion, trying to start the sway back to the paid model. It'll never happen overnight or indeed perhaps ever, but if you have a super decent game that is a feature candidate, it could be a bold & cunning move to try with that - If you do land a feature, chances are that your game will stick around way longer and competition is much lower. Hope this helps a little - good luck
