I’ve got a small-ish endless runner style game I’m very close to finishing and am considering pricing models at the moment. I don’t have that many unlockable content at this time, just 2 backgrounds that can replace the default one. Currently I’m thinking about doing it either like this:
Free/Standard version with ads, and no custom backgrounds
Pro version with no ads and the 2 backgrounds unlocked
OR
Just 1 standard version that is free, with the 2 backgrounds and disable ads available as an IAP.
What are the potential difference between these 2 options? Has anyone had any experience doing one or the other? I’d appreciate any insight or advice
Option 2 is pretty common nowadays. There are still those that still use option one but with IAP not being that hard to implement in the game store of choice its becoming less common. Basically you are trading the mess with comes with having multiple applications (two versions of submitting the app on whatever store your using) for implementing an IAP API. Just from the developer perspective I think it’s a wash you are either going to double your submission time each app update on the store submission portal or spend the little bit of time up front and implement the API.
From the customer perspective I think it’s always better to have one app (less confusion). It’s hard enough to get someone to discover your app once let alone like it and then realize their is a separate paid app.
Yeah I think you’re right, I also have been thinking about ways to keep the same leaderboard, achievements, high scores, etc between the two apps (I know it’s possible, but seems like a hassle to manage).