Beyond Battle Passes and Gacha: Retention-Driven Monetization Models

Battle passes and gacha mechanics have become standard monetization strategies in F2P games. However, they often lead to predictable engagement patterns and don’t always foster deep, long-term player investment. This post explores several new innovative monetization models designed to drive engagement and retention without relying solely on battle passes (including event and season passes) and/or gacha mechanics. These models explored in this article can create monetization opportunities that align with player behavior, community participation, and overall game experience. 1. Prestige & Legacy Systems (Monetizing Long-Term Engagement) Example: A game where high-level players can “retire” their progress in exchange for exclusive content. How It Could Work: Players who reach a certain milestone (e.g., max level, final tier of progression) can ‘prestige’ to gain exclusive benefits from a premium track (of e.g., cosmetics, skills, or VIP content). Monetization comes from prestige passes, premium tracks or premium currency […]

Antti Kananen April 3

Analysis

Supercell’s mo.co: A Constructive Deep Dive

Supercell has once again entered the mobile gaming landscape with their newest title, mo.co, a game that blends elements of Action RPGs, MMOs, and a bit of Extraction Shooters (specifically, given how its core loop is currently constructed, it resembles some elements from Extraction genres — if you have played e.g., Helldivers 2 recently, you can spot the similarities definitely in terms of jumping in and out for missions).Note! This is a constructive analysis and review with all good and “bad” laid out to discuss and analyze this game and its current state properly. This post’s intention is not to judge and point any fingers — the intention is solely to educate and discuss about the game and its current state in a professional manner, and give pointers for my readers on where this type’s of game’s strengths and challenges […]

Antti Kananen March 27

Journal

Intrinsic Studio Culture: The Key to Successful Games

In the games industry, studio culture often risks on becoming a byproduct of fast-paced development cycles, shifting priorities, and external pressures — leading to extrinsic motivations playing big part in building games. Similarly, given the current economic conditions, especially job market’s situation, there will be extrinsic factors in the play more and more within the industry — as sometimes people just need a job to make a proper living, whilst any type of opportunities just come more rare. While there isn’t nothing wrong with these sides, given the circumstances and that there can be successful businesses focusing fully on the extrinsic side of things on top of the covered circumstances; overall I think that companies can do better on this front to build more sustainable future for the games industry. So, this is where we get to the discussion point […]

Antti Kananen March 16

Journal

Use of Tension in Game Design

After playing recently hours, and hours more, extraction shooters and several mobile games for entertainment — as well as for research purposes, as the case may be — I’ve grown being interested, and even hooked a bit, to the tension elements of these games. In addition to engaging with games with tension playing a big part in them, I’ve also become interested of how tension can be used effectively in game design, economy design, monetization design as well as on live ops and product marketing. This is what we’ll be covering in this article. Tension in Game Design Tension is a critical component of game design, shaping player engagement, emotional investment, and overall immersion. It plays a role across various genres, from fast-paced mobile battles to slow-growing, high-stakes encounters in PC and console games. In this post, I’ll break down […]

Antti Kananen March 12

Journal

The Future of Sustainable Engagement and Monetization

Diving deep into intrinsic and social strategies and product positioning approaches has taught me a ton about how you can build successful products in truly propagative ways — on top of which educating my readers about these things has done the same, compounding ongoing discoveries and insight developments. One topic that has been born through these explorations is what we’re covering in this article — intrinsic and social live ops in truly intrinsic and social ways vs. how these are currently run in games. On top of this, where I believe intrinsic and social aren’t fully enough, we cover some emergent and systematic mechanisms a bit to complement overall the gaps intrinsic and social could have alone, as I think great experiences need more or less these mechanisms as well vs. not having them at all. Once again, buckle up! […]

Antti Kananen March 1

Journal

Future Principles and DNA for Sustainable Games

Given the industry’s hardships and recent dynamics on all fronts from macro to micro, I’m giving here a shot on listing down principles and DNA for building sustainable games for the future — over which I think the industry would benefit on making bets vs. repeating what has driven to us where we are today. So, buckle up! It’s going to be a bumpy and insightful ride all together when you’re reading this article. As a special mention, before jumping straight to things, it should be noted that I’m keeping these principles and points on high-level, as I’ve extensively covered each of these topics already in my blog. For diving further to these mentioned points, I highly recommend checking my posts. Principles and DNA of Sustainable Games In the rapidly evolving landscape of game development, creating long-term sustainable games requires […]

Antti Kananen February 24

Journal

Genre-Blending Extraction Shooters, Looter Shooters, Action RPGs, and MMORPGs

Gaming is undergoing an exciting evolution, with genre boundaries becoming increasingly blurred.Some of the most exciting innovations, in my opinion (after playing and developing, in some cases, games on these segments), are potentially emerging from the fusion of Extraction Shooters, Looter Shooters, Action RPGs, and MMORPGs. When executed right, the “hybrids” of these can offer deep, replayable experiences that cater to a variety of playstyles while enabling innovative monetization strategies.In this post, I’ll explore how blending these genres together could create unique and compelling games, including how they could work across PC, console, and mobile (with cross-play, as applicable). I’ll also delve into the monetization strategies that fit these experiences — moving beyond simple battle passes to include social-tiered milestones and group-based economy mechanisms, which I’ve written a lot about in my articles here:On top of monetization side, I’m also […]

Antti Kananen February 21

Journal

Future of Stashing Systems for Engagement and Monetization

Stashing mechanics have long been a staple in F2P monetization, with e.g., piggy bank systems serving as a prime example. However, the concept of stashing extends far beyond simply accumulating soft currency — when applied more broadly, it can enhance engagement, retention, and monetization in innovative ways.In this article, I’m exploring how stashing systems can evolve across different monetization and engagement layers, from Battle Pass (incl. Event Pass, and Season Pass variations) integration to e.g., social-driven mechanics and emergent gameplay systems.Traditional Piggy Banking and Engagement-Monetization Tie-InThe classic piggy bank system is a hybrid engagement-monetization mechanic where players accumulate soft currency or premium currency (traditionally at least these, but in same cases something else optionally) fragments through gameplay. Once at a milestone and/or full, players can pay a set fee to “break open” the piggy bank and claim their stash based […]

Antti Kananen February 18

Journal

The Evolution of Battle Pass, Event Pass, and Season Pass Systems

Battle Pass systems have become a cornerstone of modern game monetization, spanning across F2P mobile games and premium titles that incorporate live-service elements. Games like Helldivers 2, Brawl Stars, and Fortnite have refined and iterated on these models, making them integral to engagement loops and long-term retention. However, with increasing saturation, what’s next for these systems? How can they evolve beyond the current engagement-monetization balance? This is where we’ll be focusing in this article, on top of which we’ll cover the current state of these systems.Engagement-Monetization Tie-in: The Battle Pass EquationAt their core, Battle Passes (including Event and Season Passes) operate on a simple yet effective model:Engagement Loop: Players are incentivized to return daily or weekly to complete tasks that progress their pass, maintaining retention.Monetization Layer: The pass monetizes via a free and premium tier system, offering rewards that justify […]

Antti Kananen February 11

Journal

The Future of F2P Games and Hybrid Monetization

Systematic and emergent gameplay mechanics are a powerful tool in game design; shaping some of the most memorable and engaging player experiences.From physics-driven mechanics, puzzles, etc. to open-ended economic and systemic simulations, these mechanics allow players to interact dynamically with a game world rather than following pre-scripted paths. However, despite their growing popularity, their full potential for F2P mobile games and premium games incorporating F2P economies is still largely untapped.In this article, we'll explore how systematic and emergent gameplay can be leveraged for monetization, engagement, and live service sustainability — making it a cost-efficient alternative to content-heavy LiveOps while maintaining player retention. We’ll also take a look into how these mechanics align with intrinsic motivations, intrinsic monetization and social group monetization, creating deep and meaningful engagement-monetization loops that extend beyond e.g., traditional extrinsic reward systems.The Efficiency of Systematic and Emergent […]

Antti Kananen February 4

Journal

Economic and Real-life Systems as Monetization and Gameplay Mechanics

Monetization in F2P mobile games and Premium Games incorporating F2P mechanics has largely revolved around a handful of tried-and-true methods such as battle passes, gacha, limited-time offers, and soft friction mechanics. However, there remains a vast, unexplored blue ocean of economic and real-life inspired systems that could redefine how we design F2P game economies, player interactions, and monetization strategies.This article explores how these macro-economic and political systems can be used to enhance player engagement, create new monetization opportunities, and introduce social mechanics that go far beyond e.g., leaderboards and guilds. All from F2P point of view.Note: Inspiration for the article comes not just from my mind but from couple discussions I’ve taken part in via LinkedIn as well as throughout other personal venturing. Big thanks for those involved for giving inspiration for me to explore these topics on a scale!Economic […]

Antti Kananen February 1

Journal

The Evolution of F2P Monetization in Premium Games

In recent years, the gaming industry has witnessed a significant convergence between F2P monetization strategies and premium, full-priced games. Developers are increasingly integrating F2P elements such as microtransactions, DLC, battle passes, and premium currencies into premium titles to enhance (in well executed cases) player engagement and generate additional revenue streams.Microtransactions and DLC in Premium GamesTraditionally, premium games offered substantial content upfront, with occasional expansions or DLCs providing additional gameplay, storylines, or characters.However, the landscape has evolved, and many premium titles now incorporate microtransactions — small, optional purchases that allow players to acquire in-game items, cosmetics, characters, or other enhancements. For example, games like Diablo 4 and Helldivers 2 have implemented in-game stores focusing on e.g., cosmetic items and battle passes, generating revenue beyond other means. Helldivers 2, in particular, has been perceived positively (mostly, whilst some of their package prices […]

Antti Kananen January 30

Antti Kananen

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