Mobile Games Still Dominated By VIPs: New Report Finds Over 48% Of All In-Game Revenues Are Generated By Only 0.19% of Players

Swrve Releases 2016 Mobile Monetization Report Covering Over 20 Million Players of Free Mobile Games; Average Monthly Spend is $24.66

SAN FRANCISCO--()--Swrve, the world leader in mobile engagement, today announced the results of its latest 2016 Mobile Monetization Report. The just-published report reveals that free-to-play game revenue remains skewed towards a small group of most active spenders - with just 0.19% of all players accounting for 48% of all revenue.

Although this represents an improvement over previous reports showing up to 60% of revenue attributable to the top 10% of spenders, it confirms again the need to focus mobile game marketing strategies on VIP players.

The report covers the latest industry data relating to the monetization of free-to-play game players on mobile, based on real user data covering tens of millions of mobile gamers.

The report also indicates the focus on acquisition within the games industry may be coming to an end, as companies continue to manage the player lifecycle; the percentage of players who paid for in-game content in February was 1.9% (from 1.5% in 2014) and average monthly spend was $24.33, up from $22 in the 2014 report - although this figure was down in 2015.

Key Findings:

  • 1.9% of all players in the month made a purchase with real money;
  • Of paying customers, 64% make one purchase, while only 6.5% make five or more;
  • The typical paying player makes 1.8 purchases, averaging $13.82 per purchase - a new high for average individual purchase value;
  • 2.5% of all purchases are now over $50 in value, and these purchases contribute over 17% of all mobile game revenue.

“While the mobile games industry continues to evolve, there’s no doubt it remains dominated by big spenders,” said Christopher S. Dean, Swrve’s CEO. “As a result, it remains as important as ever to ensure games companies market effectively to the existing player base, both to optimize the experience for VIP players, but also to maximize the total number making purchases.”

To read the full report, click here.

Methodology

The report was restricted to free-to-play games and examined 30 days of behavior for all players playing a game in February 2016. Data was collected from over 40 titles, and reflects the behavior of more than 20 million players.

About Swrve

Processing over eight billion events daily, Swrve’s Mobile Engagement Platform helps enterprises maximize engagement and monetization by empowering marketers to deliver bespoke mobile experiences to every customer. Swrve provides a comprehensive set of mobile-first capabilities that include audience targeting, real-time segmentation, conversations, push notifications, in-app messaging and real-time data orchestration across all marketing channels. Swrve partners with leading brands, agencies and technology partners – including The Guardian, Condé Nast, Glamsquad, Warner Brothers, Salesforce, Oracle, and Marketo – and is installed in hundreds of apps across industries, such as retail, media, travel/hospitality, entertainment, sports, games, and banking.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Swrve
Whitney Sunseri, 415-408-7639
Corporate Communications
whitney.sunseri@swrve.com
Sales Contact:
sales@swrve.com

Release Summary

Swrve Releases 2016 Mobile Monetization Report Covering Over 20 Million Players of Free Mobile Games

Contacts

Media Contact:
Swrve
Whitney Sunseri, 415-408-7639
Corporate Communications
whitney.sunseri@swrve.com
Sales Contact:
sales@swrve.com