How Games as a Service is becoming a successful model with popular examples

Games as a Service simply refers to the idea of gaming that allows companies to monetise the offering after the initial release or as an ongoing revenue stream. Unlike games that culminate after a few hours of play, these games do not ever have to end. Instead, service games, as they are often called, provide new or upgraded content over time which players can access for a subscription or in the form of in-game purchases (micro-transactions).

Many times, these games don’t have to be downloaded either. They can be streamed directly from the cloud to the player’s device. It’s similar to the way casino games are streamed directly through an online platform, whether at the casino or at an affiliate site like Casino Yard.

It is a way to continuously monetise video games and, as you can imagine, it allows for greater engagement. A lot of scepticism had surrounded GaaS at first. However, it’s slowly establishing itself as a positive industry move, and here are some reasons why:

Flexible billing

While GaaS is a great revenue opportunity for marketers and developers, it offers flexible billing for players. GaaS serves both players who prefer to pay to play on a regular subscription basis and those who would rather make micro-transactions through in-game purchases. There are also options for flat billing or tiered billing (which allows access to a new level within one or more games).

No need for sequels

Developers usually put effort into creating a sequel when a game gains widespread popularity. Since these games never actually end, rather than creating a new game and having players purchase it, the current one just keeps getting supported with new content. This means you can maintain your character and keep all you’ve earned without beginning from scratch.

Freebies

The best GaaS offerings are pro-consumer. For instance, in multiplayer games, base games are free to play, and access to content such as maps could be free as well. Sometimes older content is included as part of the free experience when newer ones are added.

Examples of games that have benefitted from GaaS

World of Warcraft

This video game is arguably the most successful game in the world. It uses a monthly subscription GaaS model and comes up with evolving storylines. It also has an active community. World of Warcraft is owned by Blizzard Entertainment and was released in 2004.

Fortnite

Fortnite starts off as a free-to-play game and offers players the option to make micro-transactions. The new content is released in the form of seasons. New seasons are released four times a year. The game was created by Epic Games and launched in 2017. Like much of the gaming industry, it was positively affected by the pandemic. It was reported in May 2020 that the game had 350 million active players.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Using both a flat rate with Switch online subscriptions. Players get regularly updated content throughout the year. The game also allows virtual meetups with friends and several social events. New Horizons is available for Nintendo Switch and was released in 2020.