You may have seen them advertised; some of the ads specifically say that they don’t do things that other such apps do to make money (like in-app ads, requiring friend recommendations, cash-in limits, or “top ups,” whatever those are). I’m assuming that spending money isn’t required, or it’d be straight up gambling.
So what’s left? What’s the catch? I don’t particularly want to give them search engine hits, because whatever the business model is, I’m sure it’s at least a little scummy.
If they required you to give them a valid email address, or God forbid phone number, it would be easy for them or monetize that.
My guess (not having played any of these games) is that, while spending money isn’t required, it’s an option. (And I could see getting stuck some number of levels in, and seeing that getting a hint would only cost $1.99, so you go for it.)
In the Apple App Store, there is a field for whether “in-app purchases” are possible. Do you see that if you look up the game in the app store?
Depends on the game. I’ve seen quite a few mobile games that were out and out scams, so false advertising.
More common was the competitive games that were absolutely pay-to-win. You didn’t have to spend money in them, true, but you’d loose against anyone who did spend that money.
Third was money = time. More true for base/farm building types. You didn’t have to spend money at all, but you’d often do everything you wanted, to be told that the next action wasn’t available for 4 / 8 / 12 + hours. Or you could spend a teeeeensy bit of money and it would happen immediately.
Fallout Shelter had a good bit of it, plus options for series characters, bonus loot, etc. Nothing you HAD to have, but it made life a lot easier.
Good idea; I might look.
I just wasn’t sure if depending on whales was economically viable for an app that actually has cash payouts. I’ve heard that whales outspend FTP enough for games, but I imagine that money games would be different; you can actually keep direct track of losses, and you have nothing to show for it, not even a cool powerful unit or a top world ranking.
This is true of IRL gambling, and yet…
Note that there is a Wikipedia article on free-to-play video games, as opposed to premium games (in which you have to pay to play at all) or freeware games.
I had a game featuring a panda. I assumed it made money off the ads. I got bored of it before I was able to make any real money, so the whole thing could have been a scam