Tilting Point and Hunted Cow Studios’ Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest generates 50% of its revenue from its web shop.

Speaking at Devcom during a panel hosted by Xsolla, entitled ‘Engagement Best Practices from Leading EMEA Mobile Game Developers’, Tilting Point producer Joan Luis Mudarra said the web shop for the title has been live for two years, and half of its monthly and yearly revenue comes from its direct-to-consumer platform.

The game is available on the App Store and Google Play for mobile, and is also available on Steam and the Windows Store.

Web shop exclusive deals

One way the web shop differs from the in-app store is the ability for players to purchase higher-priced bundles, including packages priced at $500 and up to $1,000. Mudarra claimed this works for players, as some users prefer to do a big purchase all at once, rather than buy the same bundle over and over.

Mudarra said one method the company uses to keep players returning to the web shop is having weekly offers on rotation. Each week, a new bundle offer is available, encouraging players to come back each Friday to check for a new deal.

One of the main challenges for implementing a web shop, Mudarra explained, is how the community might react. In some cases, players may be unhappy that a web shop has been released, rather than new game updates and features, for example.

Mudarra said it’s important to be transparent with users and when communicating a new web shop, state clearly that the benefits of this work for both the developer and also the player.

Driving players to your web shop

When it comes to getting players to the web shop, as the App Store does not allow for directly linking to out-of-app purchases (which is now changing in the European Union, read here), Mudarra said one workaround is to link players to a news section built within the web shop.

For example, Tilting Point uses links within the Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest app to point players to news relating to the latest updates and features. Then once they are on the news page out of the app, players can navigate to the web shop and see the bundles on offer.

Mudarra was keen to stress that high-priced bundles might not work for all communities.

For its upcoming game, Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers, it is implementing new features to its web shop, including a Battle Pass, chain offers, daily rewards and daily gifts.

He explained that while the players might be the same, you need different ways to reach them.

You can learn more about web shops on the Powering Payments track at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on October 1st and 2nd.