4 Ways You Can Support Mobile Game Developers Without Buying In-Game Items
If you’re like us, you hate microtransactions. They make the game less fun, promote infuriating pay-to-win models, and discredit building and honing your skills. Sadly, microtransactions are becoming increasingly common in the mobile gaming industry.
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1. Buy a Paid Mobile Game
If you hate microtransactions, the easiest way to avoid them is to vote with your wallet, i.e., buy paid mobile games instead. The mainreason microtransactions existis that most people simply don’t like to pay upfront for mobile games the same way they do for console or PC games.
As a result, mobile game companies are left with no choice but to resort to other methods. It’s understandable why people don’t like paying for mobile games since they’ve historically been quite underwhelming and don’t have as good a reputation in the gaming industry.
However,mobile games are slowly improvingevery year. As phones became more powerful and received better data connectivity, the number of mobile gamers has risen globally, leading to increased investments from developers. In fact, several console titles are set to launch their own mobile games soon, and some of them, such as Apex Legends, are already available.
On the Google Play Store, it’s possible to find paid mobile games by going to the Games section and tappingTop charts > Top free,and selectingTop paidfrom the menu. You can choose from various categories and browse newly-launched games as well.
2. Write a Positive Review
Having a good rating is very important for any game developer. It’s not uncommon for people to disregard a game with less than four stars. If you want to support your favorite game developer, consider leaving them positive reviews so their games can rank higher on app stores.
Follow the steps below to write an app review on the Google Play Store:
3. Buy Merch From the Game Company
Another way to support your favorite game developer is by buying merch from their shop. Many game companies sell goodies like t-shirts, mugs, hoodies, caps, posters, pins, plushies, beanies, action figures, decals, and more.
Buying these items is a great way to show you’re a fan of the game and like what the developers are doing. The only problem is that you might have to wait longer than expected for the items to arrive at your doorstep since international shipping can take a lot of time.
4. Watch In-Game Ads
Look, we get it. Ads are annoying. Whether on a YouTube video, a website, your social media feed, or a game, ads are always inconvenient. But they’re also necessary for developers to earn income and offset the costs of creating the game.
The more ad revenue they generate, the more money they can reinvest in their game to fix bugs and create new content. Also, some games offer you special rewards for watching in-game ads, so at least you get something in return for your troubles.
Support Your Favorite Game Developers
Making mobile games is a risky business, and given the culture around mobile gaming, it’s no wonder why so many developers choose to monetize their games via microtransactions.
If you want to encourage developers not to rely on microtransactions, the best way to do that is to buy paid games and help promote the ones you like by giving them a 5-star rating.
While the onus is on developers to deliver great games, us gamers can still play a part in improving the quality of titles.
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