Game Monetization Guide

Pick a monetization model that fits your game

Compare ad mediation, in-app purchases and subscription design on the metrics that decide whether a player is worth acquiring, then follow the payment rails that turn revenue into payouts.

Read monetization articles About this guide

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What you can learn here

Practical guidance on revenue models, the metrics that show whether they work, and the payment rails that turn installs into money you can actually collect.

Compare revenue models before you commit

Interstitial ads, rewarded video, subscriptions and in-app purchases each shift the player experience in a different direction. These articles walk through how mediation waterfalls and subscription tiers change session length, churn and the mix of paying versus non-paying players, so you can judge a model on its trade-offs rather than its revenue headline.

Ad monetization and mediation

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Read unit economics without fooling yourself

ARPU hides a lot. The analytics material covers cohort retention curves, LTV estimates built on early retention rather than wishful extrapolation, and the difference between blended and payer-only metrics. It also flags where small sample sizes make a promising number meaningless.

Monetization analytics and unit economics

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Get payouts and tax right the first time

Store payouts arrive on a schedule set by the platform, not by you, and tax forms differ by country. These pieces explain what to prepare before your first payout, how thresholds and withholding affect the amount that lands, and why reconciliation matters once revenue spans several stores.

Payouts, payment rails and tax compliance

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A desk with two monitors showing an ad mediation waterfall and eCPM chart lines, a notebook with hand-drawn fill-rate notes, a phone propped beside them in soft window light

Ad monetization

Mediation setup decides your ad revenue

How you order and test ad networks in mediation changes fill rate and effective eCPM more than adding another network does.

Order networks by observed eCPM, not by reputation
Test one placement change at a time so results stay attributable
Watch fill rate and latency together, since both cut into session time
Recheck the waterfall when a network's performance drifts

Read ad monetization articles

Pick the Right Revenue Model

Three revenue paths, each with its own trade-offs in player trust, cash timing and the data you need to run it.

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In-App Purchases and Subscription Design

Sell items, passes or recurring plans. Revenue arrives per transaction, so pricing and catalog design decide whether paying players stay comfortable spending. Subscriptions trade one-time spikes for predictable renewals you must earn again each period.

Subscription design guides

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Ad Monetization and Mediation

Ads pay per impression or completed view, which means revenue scales with session length rather than payer count. Mediation layers compare networks so you fill more requests, but each added format costs attention and can push players toward churn.

Ad mediation explainers

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Payouts, Payment Rails and Tax Compliance

Whatever the model, money has to reach you. Store payouts run on their own schedules, thresholds and withholding rules, and tax treatment differs by country. Mapping fees and payout timing before launch keeps thin margins from disappearing.

Payout and tax basics

Unit economics

Know what each player is worth

Revenue per install means little until you subtract store fees, mediation cuts and payout costs; this section works through the numbers that decide whether a game can afford to buy its next player.

Read the unit economics articles

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