How to build game monetization around skins and customization?
The most basic tips. 🎀✨
This is not a rare occurrence when game developers try to stand out (especially in f2p) and build games around selling visuals and vanity stuff. Is it possible? Definitely. Is it possible to achieve success by copying the “homework” from the most successful projects? Most unlikely.
1. 🖨️Avoid copy-pasting from other games. What worked 10 years ago for big hits will most probably not work now.
2. 🌎 The project should be quite popular, it should be a hit in terms of audience. People don’t need to buy new vanity items every day, also it will be meaningless to charge high prices for such content because it will be demotivating for the players.
3. 🎆Vanity & customization content should be amazing and interesting (as possible) for the audience. It differs for genres, and platforms and rely on the demographics of the game. Always great when content is precisely tailored to the audience’s tastes and not just inspired by similar games.
4. 🌫️In working with content and its audience is better to not rely on overgeneralization. For example, if you want to reach also casual audience, it does not mean that content should be simpler, with less investment into the sense behind its meaning and its visuals.
5. 🌠Search for hidden meanings in your game and genre (from players’ perspective and experience). Sometimes there are unique types of content that can work as a vanity and be appreciated by players. It may be status-related rewards from the game modes or the game’s narrative, even some memes may be as an inspiration.
6. 🦾Cosmetic items shouldn’t compete with items with power and progression. Players always will choose efficiency and fitting gameplay above all the visuals.
7. 🚧Vanity stuff shouldn’t hurt the gameplay. If there are rules in the game in terms of the user experience (team colors, silhouette logic for classes and weapons, etc.) – these rules should be respected.
8. 📊If you selling “power” or “new gameplay” (e.g. new classes) – it usually means that customization items will perform worse overall.
9. 💃Don’t forget to provide places for players to “show off” their looks. It is not a dealbreaker, but without it may ending not working at all as a game system.
There are always “safer” ways of working with vanity items – using them as status goals and rewards, for example. When such an item is connected with ingame experience (for obtaining it) – it makes it much more valuable for the player.
📝To wrap things up: doing an impactful monetization based on vanity is quite a hard and challenging task. It is not a shortcut. For games with massive audiences, it is working better than for the niche ones.
