About the author
Michael Kopelovich
I deliver weekly insights on game monetization strategies, reviews with a focus on revenue, and tips on marketing and creative design.
Monetizing Live-Ops Events: Exploring Key Examples
Live-ops events in mobile games have evolved beyond just engaging gameplay; they are now key revenue drivers for developers. A significant way games monetize during these events is through special offers that help players advance and increase their chances of winning. Whether it’s exclusive event-specific bundles or integrated reward packs from regular offers, these in-game purchases incentivize players to keep progressing through time-limited challenges. In this article, we explore examples from various games and studios to showcase how these offers are implemented to balance gameplay progression with monetization.
“Adventure Island Merge” by FlyBird
The Insect Catching Contest event incentivizes players to complete the challenge faster by offering special packs. The screenshot on the right shows the available event-specific offers where players can purchase tools like “mowers” to speed up their progress, with bundles ranging from 10 to 35 tools. These offers help players advance through the event more efficiently, leveraging both regular progression and premium purchases.
“Gossip Harbor” by Microfun
In the Big Drop Rush event, players are encouraged to drop and match items to progress. To accelerate this process, the game offers a Chromatic Pack as a special deal. This limited-time offer provides additional resources like coins, gems, and energy, with a “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” promotion, further enticing players to make a purchase. These packs help players drop more items and advance through the event faster, blending regular progression with premium offers.
“Monopoly GO!” by Scopely
In the Plinko Board event, players drop coins into the machine, similar to an arcade game, choosing a slot to drop coins and watching them fall into different point holes. These points accumulate to unlock rewards like dice and in-game currency. The Experimental Deal offers players additional coins (in this case, 10) to help them continue dropping and collecting rewards, allowing them to progress faster through the event. This limited-time offer encourages players to purchase more coins to maintain their momentum and reach the top rewards.
“Dice Dreams” by SuperPlay
In the My Pet event, players must collect cookies to feed and level up their pet, unlocking various rewards along the way. To help players progress faster, the game offers a special deal that provides 80 pet tokens along with 160 dice (the game’s energy) as part of a limited-time promotion. By purchasing this bundle, players can advance their pet further, making it easier to reach event milestones and earn bigger rewards.
“Dream Blast” by Rovio
As part of the rolling offer combo, Dream Blast incorporates Season Pass XP Points into the Hidden Treasures event. Players can claim 40 XP points for free, but more importantly, they can purchase a 200 XP reward in the paid slot. These XP points help players advance faster through the season pass, unlocking additional rewards along the way. This integration encourages players to engage with both the event and the Season Pass, increasing the likelihood of spending to speed up their progression.
“Travel Town” by Moon Active
In the Find to Win event, players need keys to unlock treasure chests and claim rewards. As players progress, they can run out of keys, which are required to continue opening chests. To prevent players from stalling, the game offers a special deal where they can purchase 6 additional keys for $4.99, allowing them to keep advancing and unlocking rewards. This offer, available for a limited time, incentivizes players to spend in order to complete the event without interruption.
Conclusion
The examples highlighted above demonstrate how live-ops events utilize tailored offers to keep players invested and motivated to progress. Whether through exclusive bundles designed to assist in specific events or reward packs that increase player engagement, these monetization strategies have proven effective in maintaining player retention and driving in-app purchases. By combining engaging event mechanics with timely special offers, developers can create a win-win scenario: players enjoy seamless progress, and developers unlock additional revenue opportunities.
