And male child, was I wrong .
One particular bet on changed my mind – Slotomania. This game has been successfully monetizing its free slot machines for years .
We ’ re here to analyze the Slotomania monetization scheme and many other things that contribute to its achiever.
beginning, let ’ s run through some facts about the game .
How Successful Is Slotomania?
Slotomania has been on the commercialize for about a ten. It was published in November 2011 by Playtika. This publisher has a whole collection of successful games, such as World Series of Poker and Caesars Casino .
As these titles suggest, Playtika is specialized in creating casino games. Slotomania is a free-to-play slots casino game. Unlike a lot of early casino games on the market, here, players can ’ thyroxine function substantial cash nor win real money. This bet on is all about playfulness and epinephrine .
Despite this, Slotomania makes a kill. Unless stated differently, the data in this article comes from an inner source .
Slotomania presently stands at :
- 87.6 million all-time downloads
- $1.64 billion in revenue
As you can see, the revenues are enormous. even better – they keep on growing, year after year. There were even some spikes like the one in 2020 when the whole mobile bet on diligence boomed. 2020 alone brought $ 332 million to Playtika ’ second pockets .
none of this would be possible without millions of people downloading the game. The game ’ s exploiter skill scheme plays an crucial role here .
In the final operate, the game ’ randomness monetization strategy is what brings in the big bucks. however, none of it would work without the right combo of game mechanics, retention strategies, etc .
Let ’ s go over the bet on ’ s most crucial features .
First Impressions
A exploiter ’ s first-time drug user have in a game is always a win-or-lose situation .
Some players will love the game and keep play, while others will be lost for good. To turn things into their favor, Playtika made it all about winning and receiving. In the beginning session, players will receive an align of rewards – from free coins on the house, storm gifts, changeless wins on the machines, etc .
This way the game provides a positivist onboarding feel, making players feel lucky and rewarded .
Game Tutorial
A casino worker Lucy guides players through the game with a few pointers and written instructions .
There is not much guiding necessary though. Slotomania is a traditional game with a familiar and simple concept – spin the machine and try out your luck. The whole tutorial is over in a moment ’ s time. The game only explains gameplay basics and lets users explore extra features on their own .
overall, the tutorial is done well, because it is elementary, short circuit, and to the point. The Slotomania actor base is casual, and there is no indigence to overwhelm them with everything the game has to offer .
Art Style
When it comes to its artwork style, Slotomania is everything you ’ five hundred expect from a slot game .
The bet on brings Vegas vibes to the musician ’ second screens. Everything in the game is flashy and aglitter. The lobby, the slot machines, and all the other features come in a cartoonish art style with vibrant colors .
Every slot machine looks differently, so players can choose to play on dozens of different-themed machines : from trains to chili, diamonds, hazardous west to pandas. This way, everyone can adjust the plot to their like .
UX/UI
Slotomania is designed to bring a slot machine feel to mobile and it does a great job at it. The exploiter experience is well-polished and the game ’ sulfur flow is simple to follow .
When it comes to slot machines, the spin release is at the center of the action. It can be triggered with a tap, or with an auto feature that keeps the machine spin. It all depends on what players prefer – being wholly engaged with the game, or zoning out and leaving it on autopilot .
The bet on ’ randomness home screen contains all the basic in-game features in one place. On the acme, players can find resources and the in-game store. different slot machines are placed in the plaza of the screen and make the center of attention. All extra features are placed either on the leave or bottom of the shield .
overall, the interface is clear and not consuming, as it distinctly highlights the game’s main features .
How Does Slotomania Work?
Let ’ s not overcomplicate things, slots games ’ nature is equally childlike as it gets – it ’ s all about spin, winning, and lose .
however, JUST spinning would bore players in no prison term .
For this reason, Slotomania uses a bright blend of mechanics that make the plot what it is – fun, addictive, and profitable .
Progressive Jackpot
This mechanic is taken over from brick-and-mortar casinos and about every slot game uses it. It stands for a rare jackpot reward a actor can win with a random spin .
Want to know the best part ? It increases each fourth dimension a musician spins a specific slot machine without winning the jackpot. consequently, it motivates players to keep spin .
Randomness Factor
This game is all about luck and randomness .
It can be found all over the place – from the core mechanics to gameplay, meta-features, rewards, and even in some purchasable items. flush if everything is not random, they ’ ve successfully created a big delusion of it being like that .
Energy Mechanics
In mobile games, energy mechanics normally mean lives, moves, etc. Slotomania has no such features but has one that acts like an energy mechanic .
Of path, I ’ megabyte talking about coins – the game’s hard currency. Once players run out of coins, they just can ’ t play the bet on, as if they ran out of energy. At that moment, they are faced with two choices : to wait for the game to hired hand out rewards or to make a buy .
Slotomania Monetization Strategy Breakdown
When it comes to slot games with no real-money gamble, most people have a few questions in beware .
Why do people play and even spend money on such games? What’s in it for them?
Let ’ s be actual, if people are into these types of games, it makes more sense for them to merely head to a casino or play with veridical money on-line .
however, millions of people play and pay for games like Slotomania. It all comes down to two things : user behavior and the game’s offerings.
User Behavior and Monetization
There are several types of players that play games like Slotomania .
The first one are average players. Their motivation to gamble comes from basic human nature. They enjoy getting high returns, winning against all odds, and occasionally getting extremely lucky .
future, there are engaged gamblers. Guess what ? Their motivation to play is about wholly different. For them, it ’ mho all about the gamble rush – going all in, the agitation, and unpredictability. These are the players that can get from top to bottom in a minute ’ second meter .
then, there are regular casino visitors. These people play slot games to polish their skills so they can apply them to real-money gambling .
finally, some users plainly play these games to kill time. For exemplar, for the weekend mobile gamers who want to pass the time .
broadly, this music genre has a distinctive target hearing – Baby Boomers and Millennials. In fact, Slotomania ’ mho average player is 48 years old ! furthermore, 58 % of players are women .
last, some motivations can be applied to all player types. The introduction barrier for the game is low, they don ’ t have to make large investments, and they can play the game for a hanker fourth dimension, guilt-free .
The key to a successful monetization strategy is knowing how to approach all these different types of players .
In the be incision, we ’ ll analyze how Playtika does this for Slotomania .
Which Monetization Models Slotomania Uses?
Slotomania monetization is set around in-app purchases and subscriptions .
This combination is getting increasingly popular across the fluid bet on industry. Over the final few years, a lot of games total subscription offers on top of their existing IAP exemplar, including Slotomania .
Slotomania In-App Purchases Strategy and Price Points
A big greens Buy sign draws the players ’ attention on the dwelling screen. Of course, this stands for Slotomania ’ s in-game shop .
Let ’ s have a glance inside .
The store contains three different types of offers : coins, gems, and subscriptions .
The game ’ second hard currentness – coins come with the most diverse propose. Players can choose between six different packs, from $ 1.99 to $ 49.99. Just for new players, all offers come with 100 % more. People just love the spirit of exclusivity, which makes the offers seem more tempting .
Players are less probable to spend money on the game ’ sulfur soft currency – gems. consequently, they merely come in three different offers .
adjacent, the game offers three booster subscriptions. When players subscribe, they can enjoy the subscription benefits for three or seven days. The cheaper, three-day subscriptions work as test runs. If the players like them, they will credibly come back for more .
The offers of gems and subscriptions are all in the $ 0.99 – $ 9.99 crop. even most of the coin offers are in the < $10 pool. The reasons are obvious. Playtika is aware their players won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate spend hundreds of dollars on a single buy .
They are besides aware that most of their paying hearing will spend minimal amounts of money. In fact, the best sell offer of the game is the $ 1.99 coin compact .
How In-App Purchases Really Work in Slotomania?
Let ’ s be actual, a lot of players won ’ t even visit the in-game memory. Others might visit, but they won ’ thyroxine buy anything .
For this reason, the game has to bring the offers to the players. Equally important, it has to make them feel like they need them .
To find out how Slotomania does this, I put myself in the situation of a player for 7 days .
Day 1
The inaugural monetization feature in this game appeared in a topic of minutes .
As I was spinning the machine and progress, a pop fly saying “ First day by day dash completed ! ” appeared. following, I claimed my dash rewards.
A pointer led me to a give picture that explained what just happened – I was participating in a Dash season. This is the bet on ’ mho battle pass, and it comes in a exempt and premium adaptation .
Of course, the agio version, Dash Max brings extra rewards. It comes at $ 4.99, which is a standard battle pass price for these types of games .
What ’ mho not then standard about it is how early in the players’ journey it appears. This way, the players get hooked to extra rewards from school term one. As they keep playing, the game counts on the fact that their appetites will get bigger and bigger, which will potentially result in a buy .
While I was on the base screen, there was a note about a free bonus at the game ’ s shop, so I went and claimed it. This is crucial because it works as a simple trick to lure players into the store every day .
Day 2
As I played the game, my progress was tracked with a level road called Slotocity. The road is filled with stops that unlock raw in-game features .
During my irregular seance, I unlocked a mini-game called Ballinko. After finishing it and claiming my rewards, I was offered to play again, but for bigger prize. This would cost me $ 2.99. After declining, the game asks, “ Are you sure?” – this felt a short sting pushful .
What makes this offer matter to is that the game is trying to monetize players through meta-features, more precisely, a luck-based sport .
This crack is targeting a specific player type – engaged gamblers. These types of players are most likely to invest in such a feature because of the thrill it brings. other player types will credibly not be ampere tidal bore to make this investment, specially this early in the game .
Day 3
The future monetization feature on the Slotocity road was a Piggy Bank feature. From this moment on, players collect savings. Every time they spin the slot machine, the piglet fills up with coins .
Players can break the hoggish whenever they want – at a fixed monetary value of $ 2.99. As they play more, the hoggish is going to get more and more valuable .
There are respective factors that make this purchase more tempting than others, and it ’ south all about psychology .
foremost, players see the piglet as something they created on their own, which creates attachment. After all, to fill it up with coins, they have to put in attempt and time. Without their contribution, it would be worthless .
Second, they feel smart about their choice to buy it. In behavioral psychology, this is called the endowment effect .
For example, when I foremost unlocked the piglet bank, it contained less than 300k coins. This didn ’ t pay off in comparison to the store ’ s $ 3 offer. belated on in the game, it contained over $ 1M coins which beats the memory offers. After all this prison term and feat invested in it, it feels like a smart buy. It besides feels like you ’ ve tricked the plot into your favor .
Day 4
On day 4, I played the game for quite a while and leveled up all the way to level 45 .
This led me to another bang-up thing on the Slotocity road – I could get the piggy bank for free .
therefore, I got over 700k coins. Just like that. This was done then players can actually feel the value of the piggy bank purchase. More importantly, they might get hooked on the feel .
People fair love free samples, and this one is more than just a sample, it ’ s a wholly loose package. This is where the social average of reciprocity comes in. When people get something for free, they are more probable to want to give something back – make a purchase in the future .
Day 5
A “ Collect mega bonus ” feature appeared on my home screen .
It worked as the good old wheel of luck. however, equally soon as you get into it, the free fun stops. The adjacent spin comes at a monetary value – $ 1.99. This is so far another offer that targets engaged gamblers .
by and by that day, I got an IAP offer right when I launched the game. This extra offer was insanely generous. It brought $ 40+ worth of coins at $ 2.99 ( it says $ 50 but that ’ s not actually true ) .
however, it was a big fat discount .
It was besides time-limited to ten minutes only. This was done to create a hard sense of urgency and encourage an impulse purchase. This offer is not restricted to any actor type. It could appeal to anyone that made it this far in the game .
Wondering why they would counterpart their own store offers like that ?
intentionally, of course .
This is something a batch of games do – they devalue the in-game currency store. however, this will not happen on level 1 or 10. alternatively, as players climb levels and advancement, they will start getting heavy discounted offers .
It ’ s only coherent that a 50+ level musician is more likely to make a purchase. At this sharpen, the initial rewards start to drain, the stakes get higher, and the need for extra coins skyrockets .
Day 6
A fresh game launch brought the same pop-up book as yesterday .
Okay, obviously the offer wasn ’ triiodothyronine as exclusive and time-limited as it seemed earlier. however, the main point of this repeated offer is to give players a second chance to buy it .
later on that like day, the pop-up book appeared again .
These pop-ups marked a shift in the plot ’ randomness monetization scheme. From this moment on, the monetization efforts became way more aggressive .
Day 7
When I launched the game, the same pop fly from the end two days appeared again .
Despite the propose ’ sulfur attractiveness, it wouldn ’ thyroxine hurt to mix it up a bit .
besides, there was a new luck-based feature ( mini-game ), called the Lotto Bonus. once again, I got the taste of it with one absolve game and by winning a generous reinforce. A new try costs $ 1.99 and it targets chiefly engaged gamblers. however, the fact that the first reward was so generous, it may lure early types of players to purchase it a well .
User Retention in Slotomania
Games with simple gameplay like Slotomania can bore players in a matter of days .
For this reason, the developers have to put in a lot of campaign to keep them engaged. Besides making the game interest, retentiveness features play a big role in game monetization equally well .
Slotomania is at the clear of the genre in tax income and downloads. however, its retentiveness rates are merely okay .
This game retains :
- 32 % of players on day 1
- 15 % on sidereal day 7
- 10 % of players after 30 days
This game ’ s retention rates put it into the bracket with the top 25% of casino games ( GameAnalytics ). In comparison, the top 2 % of games in the genre manage to keep equally much as 60 % of players on day 1. That ’ s about twice american samoa much as Slotomania .
however, the casino genre is very diverse. It besides includes sociable and real-money gamble games that are more likely to have better memory rates. Slotomania ’ s main retention blocker is credibly its gameplay simplicity .
Be that as it may, Slotomania is filled with good retention features. These include mini-games, a collection album, daily rewards, surprise rewards, social features, tournaments, a VIP system, push notifications, etc .
Push Notifications in Slotomania
Slotomania uses push notifications to nudge its players. Since they appear on the users ’ screens, they have to be done right .
When I say done right, I mean they should be relevant, timely, and valuable .
The game notifies players about two things : daily/special bonuses and spare rewards. Players can expect to get from two to three notifications per day, which doesn ’ thyroxine tactile property like excessively much .
The best thing about them ? The content itself. even though they refer to the same features, the messages are always different .
They follow the course of the sidereal day, so players might get a “ good morning traffic ” or “ headed to bed ? ” message about the like thing – absolve coins. not lone is the content timely, but it is also captivating and playful .
Slotomania Monetization: Key Strategies
At the end of the day, most Slotomania players won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate spend a dime on it .
however, a minority of players might. The key to making this find is getting to know them and approaching them the right way, and at the right time .
hera are all the main Slotomania monetization strategies in one locate .
- Combining at least two monetization models ( in-app purchases + subscriptions )
- Creating different types of offers for unlike types of players ( new players, average users, engaged gamblers, etc. )
- Using behavioral psychology to push in-app purchases ( for example, piglet bank )
- Increasing monetization aggressivity as players progress
- Devaluating store offers with special deals
- Luring players into the in-game shop
A Final Note on Slotomania Monetization
One thing is for certain, Slotomania monetization strategy works. If you ’ re a mobile game developer, there ’ s a fortune that can be learned from this casino game .
For more articles like this Slotomania monetization analysis, make certain to check out our dissections class .
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