The DTC Era Is Accelerating in Mobile Game Revenue

Theory alone is not enough. The real change is shown by game examples. Jurassic World Mobile Game shifted 26% of its iOS spending to a direct-to-consumer payment channel in a short time through its partnership with Appcharge. Checkout conversion rates also doubled in this new channel. This is a concrete sign that player behavior can change when they are routed away from the in-app store and into a web-based payment flow.

World of Dokkaebi is another game that tested a different revenue structure. The game stayed at the top of the Google Play revenue charts for 16 consecutive days and drew attention with its unconventional monetization model. In the game, free or low-spending users can earn some paid items by playing. At the same time, the developer began reducing in-game currency rewards while expanding paid progression products. That represents a shift in balance that could weaken the purchasing power of free players.

What is interesting here is that the game’s revenue comes not only from direct sales but also from a market-like internal economy. A currency bought with real money, another currency used for progression, and a third currency used for player-to-player trading all operate within the same system. Through this structure, the developer can generate revenue without directly selling certain items to players. However, the latest changes have raised questions about how sustainable this model will be in the long run.

New Models Also Affect the Player Side

The DTC transition changes not only company revenue sheets but also player purchasing habits. The Early Access Pay system tested in Honor of Kings is a good example. The system is currently running as a pilot in China, limited to skins for three popular heroes. Players can use a skin for a month by paying around one-tenth of the full price. As monthly payments continue, the structure creates a path toward permanent ownership. This model offers a payment experience similar to installment plans.

The key point in this example is that the game makes premium content accessible over time rather than all at once. But the system has limits. The pilot only covers skins for three heroes, and whether the scope expands will depend on conversion rates and player retention data.

Dream Games has also changed its monetization approach. Interstitial ads and rewarded ads were added to Royal Match. The company had long positioned the game with a “no in-game ads” promise, so the shift drew attention. A similar ad-based extra revenue approach had previously been tested in Royal Kingdom, where ads quickly accounted for around 20% of total revenue. On the Royal Match side, the change sparked a wave of backlash in user reviews.

This shows that hybrid monetization is becoming more common. IAP, advertising, and web stores are all being combined in the same structure. Instead of depending on a single revenue stream, studios are building fragmented models based on different player spending habits. The fact that web stores have become almost “must-have” in the mobile game market over the past few months confirms this. Some games are now specifically designed so that extra in-game currencies are purchased through the web store. In some cases, those currencies even replace real money in store transactions. That changes the feeling of the purchase itself.

This is where the DTC shift in mobile game revenue really matters. The billing screen, the web store, and alternative payment paths are no longer just technical options; they have become central decision points in the revenue model.

The Revenue Model No Longer Runs Through a Single Gate

All of these examples point to the same conclusion: monetization in mobile games is moving away from the standard in-store sale toward a more flexible structure. Google is rebuilding its fee system. Unity is giving developers the ability to launch their own web stores. Games, meanwhile, are testing how to turn that infrastructure into real revenue flow.

The direction of the transition is clear. But which model will last will depend on player payment behavior and how well developers can balance the flow.