Free2play: Making Money from Games You Give Away 1st Edition

by Will Luton (Author)

46 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0321919014

ISBN-10: 0321919017

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 Wills knowledge of F2P comes from years of building games,as well as writing about and consulting with developers on the model. All the topics covered in this bookeconomics, gameplay, monetization,analytics and marketingare important to consider when youre building an F2P game, and Will covers each with an easy-to-digest style. Ian Marsh, co-founder, NimbleBit

Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away is an accessible and complete guide to the business model that has revolutionized the videogames industry, creating huge hits, multi-billion-dollar startups and a new deal for players: Play for free, spend on what you like.

Written by respected game designer and consultant Will Luton,Free-to-Play gives you the in-the-trenches insight you need to build, run and make money from games you give away. In it youll find:

Psychology behind player decisions and the motivations to play

Simple and accessible explanations of the math and economic theories behind F2P, including working examples

Processes for capturing and using player data to improve your game

Marketing tips on positioning your game and attracting players

Plus: A downloadable F2P spreadsheet, articles from the author, a foreword by NimbleBit co-founder Ian Marsh and an interview with Zynga CEO, Mark Pincus.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Will Luton is a designer and consultant in free-to-play games, having worked with companies such as SEGA and Channel 4. He has been making games for over ten years, most recently as creative director at the award-winning studio Mobile Pie. He regularly contributes articles to Gamasutra magazine, Develop magazine and GamesIndustry International, has a BA (Hons) in Computer Games Design and in 2011 was awarded a 30 Under 30 byDevelop magazine.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Riders Pub; 1st edition (June 6, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 195 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0321919017
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0321919014
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #845 in Handheld & Mobile Devices
- #1,418 in Game Programming
- #1,546 in Computer Graphics

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46 ratings

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4 star		10%
3 star		13%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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RichInOrlando

Free To Play Is Free Of Hype

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2013

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I bought this book in Kindle format thinking that all the 5 star ratings were probably friends of the author but I really hoped to learn some things about the F2P model and how to incorporate it into some mobile games I'm making. I have a few games in the iOS app store already with some F2P features in them but they are only doing average.

This book does deserve 5 stars. It's written very clearly and explains the terms that are commonly used in the industry.

I also really like how it's free of hype. No "get rich quick if you do this one thing in your game" type writing here, and very little fluff. I'm only half way through the book but I've learned enough already to have made the purchase worth while.

I like how the author explains the 4 types of player motivation and then explains the the 4 kinds of in app purchases (IAP) and how they are useful to the different types of players.

I feel like I have a better grasp of how to give players what they want so in return they will give me what I want. :)

5 people found this helpful

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Lidi Giroux

Finally, a book specifically about Free 2 Play games!

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2013

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This book covers a wide range of topics from psychology of players, game design techniques, how to measure analytics and most importantly, monetization tricks. In fact, considering the success of games such as Farmville, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans and Temple Run, we're surprised there are so few books about this topic.

It's an excellent book for both the novice and veteran for anyone involved in the Freemium game industry.

For those considering developing a Free 2 Play game, this is an easy introduction to Free2Play games and will get you up and running with industry jargon. If you're like us and already have a Free 2 Play game released, this book covers a wide range of topics with a few tricks and tips that we found useful.

We loved this book so much that we bought a copy for all the Producers here at East Side Games!

Thanks Will!

3 people found this helpful

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Jaime Ardila

Great for a semi noob like me

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014

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Great for a semi noob like me. There are only a few books on this subject: "Free2Play", "Freemium Economics", "Games as a Service", "Mobile & Social Game Design", "Freemium Mobile Games: Design & Monetization", "10 Ways to Make Money in a FREE World" and "Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games".

I recommend all of them for new game designers or game developers with basic knowledge in this field.

For rookies: stay away of "Virtual Economies: Design and Analysis" for a while, it is advanced (and a little bit theoretical). Maybe you can read it after you understand the basic concepts in the books I mentioned above.

2 people found this helpful

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Sam Witteveen

Wanna make money with your game? Read this.

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2013

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Its hard to find out the tricks of the trade in any profession especially making modern social and mobile games.

While there are lots of books about coding games in various languages and the how tos of various graphics software, there is almost nothing on how to truly make a game which makes money.

The author goes into quite a lot of detail about the techniques, formulas and tricks used to 1 Get users, 2. Keep them returning to your game and 3. Getting them to spend money on IAPs.

If you are someone who has played these types of games, you find yourself recognising the patterns and formulas taught in the book very quickly and getting an overall feel for how they all fit together.

For anyone interested in game monetization, this is a must read.

6 people found this helpful

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Joe

Buy it if you want to learn about making money with f2p

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2013

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This ebook is really well written, interesting and have a lot of iformation and good points.
It's really a good book.

The only thing I don't like it so much is the fact that the author seems to only care for making as much money as posible from the player, but I suppose it's expected from a book about money and free 2 play.

I find it a little sad nevertheless, but the ebook is really flawless.

3 people found this helpful

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Torben Hoffmann

good overview of the basic forces in f2p gameing

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2014

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Many useful terms and concepts of f2p gaming is presented. Player types and what may appeal to them. How to have a virtual currency in your game. Just knowing about all the different aspects of monetisation will create a great game, but if you have a game you like it will help you find ways to make money without annoying your players. Having read this book it is painfully clear that many games out there have been made with monetisation in mind instead of playability & fun - that is our challenge: make something good and then weave in a monetisation scheme that your users find fair.

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Thorben Novais Silva Jensen

Clear vision on F2P

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2013

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I recommend the book.

Who still has any doubts about 'Freemium' should definitely have a look. The author has a clear vision on the subject and articulates very well all aspects on the matter.
Before reading the book I thought I had a pretty good idea what F2P is all about. But there is still a lot to learn, and I will use the book for sure as a reference in future occasions. I already got some ideas out of it.

Like I said in a tweet "@will_luton Your book is probably the smartest CV! :)"

2 people found this helpful

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Pinkyblee

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013

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The author clearly knows this industry very well. It is well researched and has engaging writing. I would recommend this for anyone seriously exploring methods for making money from their games.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Evil27

The perfect field manual to Free To Play games

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2013

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I pre-ordered Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away several weeks in advance of it's launch. Whilst I already work in the freemium social/mobile games space I am always hungry for great resources that pull all the various elements and issues together in a cohesive way. Until this book came out, there was precious little available in that respect. Now there is and I would heartily recommend Will Luton's work to anyone looking to be part of the games industry over the next decade and beyond.

To thrive in the free to play games business, one needs to gain a decent appreciation of multiple topics, some of which have hitherto been completely alien to many otherwise capable games designers, producers or product managers. These topics include the role of game data and the analysis of this to drive engagement, retention, revenue generation and other, business-critical success criteria. Luton goes beyond simply defining the illustrating the key characteristics of Free To Play design; notably he provides commentary, insight and clear guidance on the issues that will help shape (or otherwise, break) a digital games business. This isn't a book tailored for new Goliaths such as Zynga et al; this is a well-structured, concise and practical - and often very witty - field manual for people performing multiple diverse roles in the games industry.

Luton addresses issues that are currently the source of frequent, heated debate at almost every game conference and in most studios globally. Issues such as the role of 'data-driven design' and the targeting of children with virtual IAPs, and does so with a refreshing and mature tone, neither advocating some of the sharp practices that have sometimes been applied yet never also apologizing for what Free To Play is....a BUSINESS model; one designed to earn revenue. His message is consistent. It is one of ensuring that you provide a level of service and quality of offering that people will naturally desire and thus be positively willing to pay for. This is not a dark guide to churning some evil box of black monetisation magic to exploit the ignorant masses. Rather, this book is about how we, as a mature industry, can find new ways to serve and delight our audiences on a scale never before believed possible.

If you are already receptive to and/or embracing of Free To Play games design and monetisation then you will very likely get value from this book. If you are currently firmly-footed in the 'camp of Free To Play naysayers', but hope to play a productive and positive role in the modern computer games industry, then do yourself a favour and invest the time and money to read this book. I predict that you will gain a new perspective; one that will stand you in good stead. And if not...you can always resell it on Amazon.

What's to lose?

2 people found this helpful

Martin Linklater

Everyone who designs games needs to read this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2013

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I've been a pro game developer for 20 years, and thought that this book wouldn't be able to teach me much about my art. How wrong I was. This book breaks down the nuts and bolts of game design in a methodical manner, and is a real eye opener. Some of my most long held preconceptions about player motivation and value of certain design decisions have been turned on their head. The author has a clean, easy to understand way of demonstrating what motivates people to play games, and what keeps them coming back for more.

Even if you're not working in the free to play space there are tons of great rules of thumb and examples which will be of great use to you.

Buy this book now. You owe it to yourself.

One person found this helpful

Ash

The best F2P game book I've come across

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2013

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I've been in the F2P gaming space for 6 years now. And over the past 6 months I have searched around for books to help enhance my knowledge of the subject outside my own experience. I've spent a couple hundred pounds on different books, and this one has to be the most insightful.

It's a well written and well designed book, full of the key information you need to run a F2P game. Although a nice chunk of it I knew already, there was some good insights and examples I didn't know that I can draw from going forward.

This book should be more than £19 when you compare it to other books on the market. Great job Will.

One person found this helpful

Lena

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 29, 2020

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A former ops manager of a game company recommended me this book and I’m glad to have bought it. It covers a lot of strategy and knowledge in areas I had no idea of. Can definitely recommend!

John Griffin

Decodes F2P in a straight up succinct way

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2013

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Free 2 Play theory is a complex area. It encapsulates game design, running games as a service, behavioral economics, psychology (more than Maslo), data science and analysis and much more. It is one of the scariest developments in the games industry for developers as its hard to get right while at the same time being one of the biggest opportunities. Its a potential leveling field for the indies' against the larger studios. This book is a great starting point for your journey into the Free 2 Play domain. It decodes a lot of the jargon so often bandied about and is a down to earth book that will equip the games designer with the fundamentals of what they need to think about. These days, success will largely be determined by how much one masters these skills so I would say this is a 'must read'.

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