Unlocking New Revenue Streams: A Low-Risk Approach to Porting Mobile Games to Web Browsers

Pavel Polovinka, head of publishing at Playgama, a leading platform for HTML5 game distribution and monetization, explores the benefits of transitioning from mobile to web gaming. When making the leap from mobile to web gaming, several questions arise, including the ease of user acquisition, the comparability of the two markets, and the potential benefits. The answers are straightforward: acquiring users is relatively effortless, the markets share some similarities, and the benefits are undeniable. Although the web game market is smaller than its mobile counterpart, it is experiencing significant growth, making it an attractive opportunity for developers. Porting a mobile game to HTML5 and distributing it across various web platforms can be a relatively straightforward process, and while the potential revenue may be lower than on mobile, ignoring the web market means leaving money on the table. A prime example of this is Playgama's collaboration with StoreRider, a distributor of Android games on alternative stores. StoreRider sought to expand into the web game market and partnered with Playgama to achieve this goal. Initially, two games, Gangsta Island: Crime City and Vikings: An Archer's Journey, were uploaded to platforms like Playgama and Crazy Games, resulting in around 500,000 play sessions. Recognizing the market's potential, StoreRider decided to cast a wider net. However, optimizing the source code for different web platforms and connecting with key publishers proved to be a daunting task. Playgama's expertise enabled the games to be optimized for mobile browsers within the WebGL context, and features like asynchronous saves and engagement tools were added. The games were then published on multiple platforms, including Playgama, MSN Games, and Facebook, resulting in over one million play sessions, a 20% day one retention rate, and a top position in the MSN top ten for several weeks. These results demonstrate that a mobile distributor can find a new revenue stream with minimal effort. The key takeaway is that the web market, although smaller than the mobile market, presents a viable opportunity for developers and distributors to diversify their revenue streams. The web gaming market is considered a secondary option for mobile developers, but its accessibility in terms of marketing spending and user acquisition makes it an attractive choice. With the number of web browser games increasing by 4.9 times over the past two years and the HTML5 games market projected to grow to $31.9 billion by 2030, it is essential for developers to explore this opportunity and capitalize on the growing demand.