Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away

Will Luton

May 2013 · New Riders

About this ebook

“ Will’s knowledge of F2P comes from years of building games, as well as writing about and consulting with developers on the model. All the topics covered in this book—economics, gameplay, monetization, analytics and marketing—are important to consider when you’re building an F2P game, and Will covers each with an easy-to-digest style.” —Ian Marsh, co-founder, NimbleBit

Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away is an accessible and complete guide to the business model that has revolutionized the videogames industry, creating huge hits, multi-billion-dollar startups and a new deal for players: Play for free, spend on what you like.

Written by respected game designer and consultant Will Luton, Free-to-Play gives you the in-the-trenches insight you need to build, run and make money from games you give away. In it you’ll find:

• Psychology behind player decisions and the motivations to play

• Simple and accessible explanations of the math and economic theories behind F2P, including working examples

• Processes for capturing and using player data to improve your game

• Marketing tips on positioning your game and attracting players

• Plus: A downloadable F2P spreadsheet, articles from the author, a foreword by NimbleBit co-founder Ian Marsh and an interview with Zynga CEO, Mark Pincus.

Ratings and reviews

This is a brilliant book for everyone wanting to learn about the topic of F2P games. The book is well-written and presented and touch everything there is to know about free2play. I can highly recommend the book to anyone working with F2P games, whether you are beginner or professional, chances are that there is a lot for you to learn from one of the true pioneers of F2P. We found the book extremely useful when starting to work on our first F2P titles.

About the author

Will Luton is a designer and consultant in free-to-play games, having worked with companies such as SEGA and Channel 4. He has been making games for over ten years, most recently as creative director at the award-winning studio Mobile Pie. He regularly contributes articles to Gamasutra magazine, Develop magazine and GamesIndustry International, has a BA (Hons) in Computer Games Design and in 2011 was awarded a 30 Under 30 by Develop magazine.