Pay-to-win monetization in games: myths and misconceptions

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There are different monetization models in the gaming industry. Some studios support projects with DLC, others provide gamers with the opportunity to play by subscription. Still others adhere to the free-to-play system, in which the player does not have to pay to access the game.

However, developers often integrate pay-to-win monetization mechanics into such projects. What is it? And does donation in games always give the gamer an absolute advantage? Maxim Burak, head of kazakhstan whatsapp phone number the monetization department at Astrum Entertainment, answers these questions.

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The structure of games with pay-to-win monetization mechanics
In games with a pay-to-win monetization system, users are offered to purchase game advantages for real or virtual money, and the size of the advantage received is directly proportional to the amount of money spent. At the same time, the ability to invest money is not limited in any way.

One example of a free-to-play project with pay-to-win elements is Diablo Immortal, which was released in 2022. Criticism of the game was primarily related to the fact that over time it became increasingly difficult for the gamer to continue the game, which pushed him to make micropayments.

According to the YouTube channel Bellular News, on average, a player would have to spend about $100,000 to fully level up one in-game character. Microtransactions led to a lack of balance - some gamers who decided to do the leveling themselves could even at the early stages of the game encounter people who spent huge amounts of money to speed up this process.

And yet, Diablo Immortal can hardly be called a bad game — its problems were associated exclusively with the hypertrophied monetization mechanics. In some countries (for example, in Belgium and the Netherlands), such an aggressive pay-to-win system even led to the project being banned . However, the mechanics that Blizzard used in Diablo Immortal are not always perceived so negatively.

Read on the topic: How games influence our behavior: the opinion of a neurobiologist

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Pay-to-win game mechanics
In a number of pay-to-win games, monetization is implemented using in-game currency, which the player purchases for real money. At the same time, some projects that have in-game currency in their arsenal do not follow the pay-to-win path. Apex Legends can serve as a good example here.