The year 2023 witnessed a huge shift in how major mobile game publishers approached selling their games directly to consumers. They began launching web stores to sell their games online.
This move aimed to avoid the traditional 30% fees charged by app stores on all transactions, which allowed them to offer users exclusive deals and boost their profit margins.
Looking ahead to 2024, we can expect more game publishers to adopt web stores, from medium-sized to large companies. This raises an important question: How does a web store increase profitibility of a video game?
By the end of this guide, you will have a clearer understanding of how a web store works and you will be able to launch your game web store.
How Game Web Stores Can Generate Revenue For You?
Here are several ways your dedicated web store can help you make money:
1. Direct Sales:
Normally, you’d sell your game merch and kits through an online store like those app stores or gaming platforms. These stores are like middlemen – they take a cut of your sales for letting you sell on their platform. That means less money in your pocket!
But guess what? You can open your store online, like having your lemonade stand but on the internet. This way, people can buy your game directly from you, and you get to keep almost all the money they pay. That’s a way bigger profit than if you sell through those other stores! It’s like keeping all the lemonade money yourself instead of sharing it with someone else. Pretty cool, right?
2. Flexible Pricing Models:
Running your web store is like having your video game store! Here’s the cool part: you get to decide how much to charge for your game, not some other store. This means you can get creative with pricing to attract more gamers.
With your own store, you’re the boss and can come up with awesome deals to attract more gamers and sell a ton of copies of your game!
3. Higher Profit Margins:
Those app stores and gaming platforms you might sell your game on? They take a lot of your profits for letting you sell on their turf.
With your own web store, almost all the money from sales goes straight to you, the game maker. This means more money in your pocket to keep making awesome games! Pretty cool, right? The more games you sell, the more money you make to keep creating new and exciting games for everyone to enjoy!
4. Merchandise Sales:
Remember your awesome game? With your own online store, you can sell more than just the game itself. Imagine selling cool stuff like t-shirts with your game’s logo, posters showing amazing scenes from the game, or even special figurines of your game characters!
This is a great way to make even more money from your game and show off your brand to the world. People who love your game will love wearing your shirts or hanging posters on their walls.
5. Offer Game Bundles:
Imagine you’re at a carnival and see a giant bag filled with fun toys! That’s kind of like what a game bundle is in your own online store. You can group your game with other cool stuff to make a super enticing offer for gamers.
For example, you could bundle your game with another game you made, creating a double dose of fun for one price! Or, you could throw in some bonus in-game items or even an extra level, like adding extra tasty treats to your lemonade cup for free!
This way, gamers get more bang for their buck, and you might even sell more games than if you sold them separately. It’s a win-win!
6. Subscription Models:
With your own web store, you can create a special “game club” for your fans! Here’s the cool part: players can join this club by paying a subscription fee, like paying dues to be part of a club.
Being a member of your game club comes with awesome perks! Players might get access to all your games for one flat fee, just like having an all-you-can-play pass at an arcade. Or, they could get exclusive content, like early access to new levels or special in-game items, before anyone else.
7. Crowdfunding Campaigns:
With your web store, you can team up with your fans to make your next game even better!
Here’s the idea: you can use your store to ask your fans (the coolest people ever!) for help funding your next game project. It’s like asking your friends for a little extra cash to help finish your epic treehouse. In return for their support, you can offer them special rewards, like early access to the new game or even a chance to design a character. It’s a win-win!
8. Cross-Promotions:
With your own web store, you can team up with other game developers to promote each other’s games. This way, people who love your game might also discover their games, and vice versa. It’s like having a giant lemonade stand party with all your friends’ delicious concoctions too!
This is a great way to reach more gamers and get them interested in all the cool games you and your fellow developers have created. Everyone gets a chance to shine, and gamers have a wider variety of awesome games to choose from.
9. In-Game Purchases:
Some games let players buy extra fun stuff inside the game, like special characters or fancy outfits. With your own web store, you can be the one selling these cool things directly to players! This means you get to decide how much to charge and what kind of awesome stuff to offer.
Imagine selling special in-game coins that players can use to buy all sorts of neat things, or maybe even extra levels or storylines they can’t find anywhere else.
10. Community Engagement and Donations:
With your own web store, you can create a special place for your game’s biggest fans, like a superfan headquarters! Here, the most dedicated gamers can get awesome rewards for supporting you.
Imagine offering early access to new features in your game, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, or even a chance to chat with you directly. These are like special VIP perks for the coolest gamers who donate or help you out. It’s a way of saying “thanks” for being such awesome fans!
The best part? This creates a strong community around your game. Your fans feel special and appreciated, and you get even more support to keep making amazing games that everyone will love.
11. Affiliate Marketing:
Here’s the deal: you can partner with famous gamers or people who make cool gaming videos online. They’ll tell their followers about your game using a special link. If someone clicks that link and buys your game from your store, those gaming stars earn a little commission, like a reward for spreading the word about your delicious lemonade.
Affiliate marketing is a huge thing and spreading very rapidly. This is a great way to reach a whole new audience of gamers who might not have known about your game before. The more people who know about your game, the more sales you might make!
Why Traditional Web Stores Aren’t The Best Options for You?
Let’s say you built a super cool game and want to sell it to people. You have two choices: sell it through an app store or make your own web store. App stores like Google Play and Apple App Store seem easy, but there’s a catch!
1. 30% Revenue Sharing:
Imagine you sell your game for $10. That’s awesome! But hold on, the app store takes a chunk of that money, like a slice of pizza. Usually, they take 30%, which is like taking $3 from your $10 game! That means you only get to keep $7. This can be a big deal, especially if you’re just starting out and every penny counts.
With your own web store, you wouldn’t have to share your money with anyone. You keep the whole $10! This can make a big difference in how much money you make in the long run.
2. Less Profit Margins:
Since the app store takes 30%, that leaves you with a smaller profit margin. This can be tough, especially for small game makers who don’t have a giant company behind them. They rely on those sales to keep making cool games!
Having your own web store means you get to keep more of the money you make. That bigger profit margin can help you keep making awesome games and maybe even hire your friends to help you out!
4. Pressure to Increase Prices:
Because of massive revenue sharing, some game makers might have to raise their prices to make the same amount of money. This means your $10 might not be enough anymore, maybe you’d need $12 or even $15!
That price hike can stop people from buying the game, which means fewer people get to play it. That’s not fun, right? With your own web store, you control the price. You wouldn’t have to make the game more expensive just because the app store takes a cut. This can keep your game affordable for more people, leading to more sales and happy gamers!
6. Competition and Visibility Challenges:
With millions of options, it can be super hard for your game to get noticed. People might just scroll right past it and never even know it exists.
To get people to see your game, you might have to pay for ads or spend a lot of time promoting it. This can cost a lot of money and time you could be spending on making your game even better.
With your own web store, it’s like having your own little game booth at a fair. People can come directly to you and check out your game. You can customize your store to make your game the star of the show, without having to fight for attention in a crowded room.
7. Content Guidelines and Approval Processes:
App stores have rules about what kinds of games they allow, kind of like how a school has a dress code. These rules can be tricky to understand, and sometimes they can even make it so your game can’t be sold in the app store at all! This can be frustrating because you put a lot of work into making the game, and now people can’t play it.
With your own web store, you get to decide what games you sell. There’s no app store approval maze to get lost in. This means you can get your game out to people faster and start making money quicker!
Pros Of Building Your Own Game Web Store
Building your own game web store for your game is a great decision. Here are some pros to consider:
- Control Over Presentation: When you create your own game web store, you have control over how your game is presented to players. You can design the layout, showcase images, and write descriptions that best highlight your game’s features.
- Direct Relationship with Players: Having your own store means you can directly interact with players. This direct connection allows you to gather feedback, respond to questions, and build a community around your game.
- Flexibility in Pricing and Promotions: With your own store, you can set your own pricing and run promotions whenever you want. This flexibility gives you the ability to experiment with different pricing strategies and sales tactics.
- Increased Revenue Share: When selling your game through third-party platforms, they often take a percentage of your sales. By selling through your own store, you can keep a larger portion of the revenue for yourself.
- Brand Building: Your game store becomes part of your brand. It helps establish your identity as a game developer and allows you to build a loyal following over time.
- Data and Analytics: Running your own store gives you access to valuable data and analytics about your players. This information can be used to understand player behavior, improve your game, and make informed business decisions.
- Long-Term Sustainability: Owning your store provides long-term sustainability for your game. You’re not reliant on the policies or changes of third-party platforms, giving you more control over the lifespan of your game.
- Opportunity for Expansion: As your game and brand grow, having your store can open up opportunities for expansion. You can potentially sell merchandise, expansions, or even other games through your established platform.
Cons Of Building Your Own Game Store
Building your own game web store for your game can have drawbacks:
- Cost: Developing a web store requires money for hiring programmers and designers. This can be expensive, especially if you’re just starting out.
- Time: Creating a web store takes time. You’ll need to plan, design, code, and test everything, which could delay your game’s release.
- Complexity: Building a web store involves dealing with technical details like payment systems, user accounts, and security. This can be challenging and might require specialized knowledge.
- Maintenance: Once your web store is up and running, you’ll need to maintain it. This means fixing bugs, updating software, and providing customer support, which can be demanding.
- Competition: There are already established game platforms like Steam and Epic Games Store. Building your own store might make it harder to compete and attract players.
But worry not, Fungies is here to solve this problem for you.
How Fungies is the Perfect Solution For Your Game Web Store?
Fungies.io provides a comprehensive solution to the challenges faced when building your own game web store. Here’s how Fungies.io can address these problems:
1. Easy Setup:
Imagine you made an awesome video game and want to sell it online. Normally, to sell stuff online, you need to build a special shop on the internet. This can be confusing and take a long time, kind of like building a maze out of boxes in your living room.
Fungies is like a pre-made box maze kit for your video game store. It’s super easy to put together, and you don’t need any special skills or knowledge to use it. Even if you’ve never built a maze before, you can have your awesome video game shop ready to go in just a few minutes! This way, you can spend more time on what really matters: showing off your cool game to everyone!
2. Zero Upfront Fee:
Imagine you want to sell your own lemonade, but instead of just setting up a table, you want a fancy lemonade stand. Building a custom lemonade stand from scratch would cost a lot of wood, paint, and tools.
Fungies.io is like a free lemonade stand kit. You can use their tools to build a cool stand yourself, for free! This way, you can save all your money you would have spent on the fancy stand and use it on things like making more lemonade or advertising your stand to everyone in the neighborhood. This lets you focus on what really matters: making and selling the best lemonade ever!
3. No Coding Required:
Fungies is awesome because anyone can use it, even if they’re totally new to computers! You don’t have to be a coding whiz like those people who write all the video game instructions.
his means it’s perfect for small game creators, like you! It’s super easy to use, so you can quickly set up a cool online shop to show off and sell your game without any trouble. Just imagine, your game could be available for everyone to see in just a few clicks!
4. Tailored for Game Developers:
Fungies gets how game developers think! They built their store maker specifically for video games, so it has all the right tools and stuff to make your game look amazing. It’s like having a bunch of pre-made signs and decorations specifically designed for your lemonade stand, so you can easily show off how awesome your lemonade is!
This way, everyone who sees your online store will know exactly how cool your game is and want to buy it.
5. Ongoing Support and Updates:
Fungies.io doesn’t abandon you after you set up your shop! They are there to help you out if you ever run into any problems. They also keep updating their stuff regularly, so your game store always works perfectly and looks super cool.
This way, you don’t have to worry about fixing things yourself or your shop looking outdated, just like how you wouldn’t want your lemonade stand to suddenly fall apart or look boring! This lets you focus on what really matters: making and selling even more awesome games!
Why Fungies Makes Selling Your Games a Breeze (While Competitors Clip Your Wings)
Let’s face it, launching your game shouldn’t feel like an uphill battle. But with competitors like AppCharge, Stash.gg, and Sanlo, that’s exactly what it can be. Here’s how Fungies takes the stress out of selling your games:
Coding Chaos:
These platforms require mountains of coding knowledge, leaving non-programmers lost in the jungle. Fungies lets you ditch the code and focus on what you do best: making incredible games!
Setup Slowdown:
Don’t waste weeks or months wrestling with complicated setups. Our competitors drag the process out, keeping you from what matters – getting your game into players’ hands. Fungies is a breeze to set up, so you can be up and selling in no time!
Hidden Fees Hurt:
Love surprises? Well, our competitors do too, but not the kind you’ll enjoy. AppCharge, Stash.gg, and Sanlo all take a cut of your sales with hidden fees. With Fungies, what you see is what you get – you keep 100% of your profits! Now that’s a sweet deal.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Is selling through a web store better than app stores?
Yes, the article argues that web stores offer several advantages over app stores, including keeping all your profits, more control over pricing and promotions, and a direct connection with players.
2. What are the downsides of building my own web store?
The article mentions costs, time commitment, technical complexity, maintenance needs, and competition from established platforms as drawbacks of running your own web store.
3. What is Fungies.io and how does it help?
Fungies.io is a platform designed to make building a web store for your game easy and affordable. It offers features like a user-friendly interface, no coding required, and ongoing support.
4. What are some benefits of using Fungies.io?
The article highlights benefits like easy setup with no upfront fees, no coding required, tools tailored for game developers, and ongoing support and updates.
5. How does Fungies.io compare to competitors like AppCharge?
While competitors might require coding knowledge, take months to set up, and charge hidden fees, Fungies.io is easy to use, fast to set up, and lets you keep all your profits.
Final Verdict
To make a long story short, Stop sharing your profits and say goodbye to app store headaches. Fungies.io empowers you to create a stunning game web store in minutes, with zero coding required. Start selling your game on your terms today and keep 100% of your hard-earned profits. Visit Fungies.io now and build the game store of your dreams!
