I am close to finish my first Unity game. It is a casual game meant to be played in a web player and I don't have big expectations on this one. But I want to exploit it as much as I can. I try to figure out how to monetise it. As said, it is my first game, so my experience in monetizing is zero. So far, I understand that I can
post it on game portals. Revenue comes from advertisment and is shared with the portal.
create a web page to host the game, with paypal donate and google adsense (or similar).
My questions are
How do you monetise your game ?
Is there something similar to Mochiads for Unity ?
What are the steps to apply for a sponshorship (eg sites, principes etc)?
Please notice that the questions are on monetizing, not marketing. Thanks in advance.
PS Since new users cannot add tags, I suggest a user with proper rights add (if appropriate) the tags monetise, casual game.
I am in the same situation as you are with a game that I just finished and needs leaderboards, achievements and monetization included. One of the most promising solutions to this problem seems to be dimeRocker: http://dimerocker.com.
EDIT December 12, 2012: dimeRocker was a promising solution when this answer was provided, unfortunately they are no longer in the game portal business.
This is a self-publishing service and it's free to use. This means that they have an API specifically created for Unity. You add a few lines of code and some security keys that they will provide and then upload and deploy your game on their website. Their application will deploy your game on the main social websites like Facebook, Hi5 and Myspace (other will be added). This service is in its beta stage. You can register for an account and you will have to add a short description of your game. You will receive an account and you can do all that I just told you immediately after you intergated your API into your game (shouldn't be too difficult as they provide documentation). This API will offer multiple features like: Social Deployment, Scalable Hosting, Persistence, Community, Advertising, Micro-Transactions (a.k.a. Monetization), Leaderboards, Dashboard, Analytics.
Unfotunately, some of these features are not yet implemented since the service only launched it its beta stage. But, the developers planned the release of the Monetization part of the API in Q2 2010 (this summer). If you can wait until than, this is the solution for you, if not, something else might be out there.
take a look at this blog post by rune about how to make buzz arround your game. it might help you. about sponsorship i think it's something different in different countries and depend much to your game.
wooglie.com is a game portal just for unity games. take a look at it too.
You might be interested in our Unity Tokens micro-transaction API. It's free for Unity developers and designed to run seemlessly in your Unity web game. You can download the API and read the easy setup tutorial here:
All of the program details are on our site, but we currently offer a 70% split to all developers using Unity Tokens. Our current exchange rate is 800UT : $1 USD. We currently issue bi-weekly payouts to accounts via paypal and soon via bank check and direct deposit.
We also offer helpful micro-transaction tutorials to help you better understand how you can design a virtual economy in your game.
Kongregate is one of the best web portals for games casual and otherwise. As of this month, they now accept Unity Web Player games, and are even running a $15K contest for the best submissions.
Monetizing a (mobile) casual game can be tricky! As a developer your focus should remain on the overall user’s experience and game play. While IAP (In App Purchases), can account for a significant revenue stream, the reality is that perhaps only 2% to 5% of the gamers base will be willing to spend hard dollars! The question is, how to you capture the remaining 95%of gamers unwilling to spend cash? Offer walls is a fantastic way to both address the gamers’ needs while driving incremental revenues and dramatically increasing gamers’ overall LTV (Long Term Value). There are many companies out there offering such services, as a developer you should ask the hard questions such as:
1- What are integration options (SDK vs API)? API based integrations offer way more flexible, and generally faster to integrate!
2- Do you have visibility into advertisers’s actual payouts? Critical point here, as too many providers claim “preferred rev share”, but don’t disclose payouts. Standard rev share are 60/40, so If someone offers you an 80/20 split, ask for payouts!
3- How many offers are available and are they diversified? Another critical point, as it’s become clear the more (quality) offers available the higher eCPMs! Your monetization partner should also be able to provide a good mix of CPA based offers (lead generation) and Video offers (easy to fill). Don’t bother integrating providers with less than 60 offers at all time!
4- How are in-game credits issued and who owns tier 1 customer support? Typically a good mobile monetization platform provider should own this, and also be able to dynamically issue credits (close to real time).
5- What are payment terms? Standard terms are usually Net 30.
6- Do I have to sign any kind of exclusivity? Huge red flag here! As a smart publisher, this is a “big no no”! You should test, test and test again!
Ask also about ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User), and global fill (are offers available outside the US for example?). At Aarki we pride ourself delivering the highest ARPDAU and eCPM while maintaining overall Gamers’ experience. For more information, feel free to reach us at contact@aarki.com
Thank you for reading!