#monetization design

[askagamedev]

A twofer but they're related. Why in games, where nothing needs to be shipped, do shops "rotate" things in purely digital storefronts as if they can't exist for sale perpetually? And why can't battle pass items just be bought outright in most cases? F2P games make it so arduous to get things you want today even if you just want to pay up front and it's infuriating. It's always lottery and long term investment to get a single thing now. I don't buy cosmetics often but sometimes I see something I want and *would* buy but woops! Sorry, you missed the battle pass! Why is this the meta?

There's a couple of reasons why we don't put everything in the store forever. Having too many things for sale is a recipe for [decision paralysis], which basically means the player has way too many options and feels overwhelmed. Having too many things for sale clutters up the UI and makes it significantly more difficult for players to find the thing they want. There are also some darker design patterns associated with it - making items not always available makes players value them more and more willing to spend on them. Disney famously did this with their ["Disney Vault"] policy for decades.

As for why we don't let players buy out battle passes... it's the same reason why some gear is only available via certain gameplay avenues like raiding, pvp, or even calendar-constrained events. Designers usually want certain rewards to feel special and exclusive. Battle passes are there to encourage engagement - players who play regularly get the rewards, similar to how players who are playing during the anniversary get the anniversary items or players who play during Halloween get the Halloween themed rewards.

Explicit rewards are often a large motivation for players to engage with particular types of gameplay. Creating rewards that players want is the point - we want to make content players want to engage with. I understand the frustration of wanting a reward but not wanting to engage with the gameplay (or spending) to obtain those rewards. It's always a delicate balancing act between monetization, player engagement, player frustration, and the particular exclusivity to drive that engagement.

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[askagamedev]

Why do in-game cosmetics tend to be so expense? (~$20, nearly 1/3 the price of a full game). I mean I know the simple answer is that the devs have determined that's the sweet spot to price them at, based on their data. But is there any more insight you can offer as to *why* that became the sweetspot? Intuitively it just seems like way too much. Is it to take advantage of whales?

It's similar to how different players like different kinds of gameplay in games, different buyers have different things they're looking for and different spending habits. A lot of the considerations among players for in-game purchases also apply to whole game purchases.

Consider - many players are all about getting a hot new game on release day. These types will preorder, preload, and may even stay up till midnight to start playing right away. In like manner, many in-game spenders also like getting the hot new thing that appeals to them right away.

Some players are willing to wait for the sales on new games. These more value-minded players love to buy discounted products and bundles where the items included might not be on the top of the desired list, but they like getting value. These players won't buy the brand new $20 cosmetics, but they can often be tempted by the bundles of all of last season's cosmetics at a discount.

This is just a few examples of different buying habits. We also often make products (both microtransaction and full game) for new players to help them ramp up in the game. The players who make the most products for are the biggest spenders, but we try to provide different things for everybody who wants to spend.

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