Mobile Dev Appy Entertainment Sees Growth From Freemium Model

Mobile game maker Appy Entertainment says downloads and revenues have increased substantially since the company began transitioning its titles to a freemium model three months ago. Appy says that downloads have increased 340 percent and revenues have doubled in the twelve weeks since the company started offering Trucks & Skulls as a free app supported by in-app purchases, as compared to the 12 weeks prior. In addition, Appy reports its introduction of the free-to-play Facefighter Ultimate last month helped that franchise hit the 10 million download milestone "months ahead of previous estimates." In a Gamasutra blog post last month, Appy's brand director Paul O'Connor explained that eliminating free-to-play "lite" versions of its titles in favor of a unified free-to-play versions has helped attract customer interest. "'Lite' has come to represent 'incomplete' or 'advertising!' in the minds of most players, and download and advertising numbers have declined as a result," O'Connor said. Consolidating into a single free-to-play app also provides collateral benefits such as simpler support, improved sales chart positions, and reduced customer confusion, according to O'Connor. Appy now boasts an average of 20,000 daily downloads for its title, and has plans to expand with the release of a free-to-play social RPG sometime in the last quarter of 2011.