What is Games as a Service (GaaS) and What Does it Mean For Marketers?

Games as a Service (GaaS) was introduced as a barrier between consumer cost concerns and user engagement. It offers a way to bring down customer acquisition costs and has been proven to keep users in a game for far longer than the pay-to-play method. EA Games, for example, increased its market value from $4 billion to $33 billion in just six years after introducing GaaS content.

Games as a Service acts as a continuous revenue service for developers, allowing them to break their reliance on the one-time purchase. With more games being developed every year, GaaS gives them a competitive advantage in the fight for user attention. It also allows advertisers to get exposure in some of the most popular games played in today’s market.

What Is Games as a Service (GaaS)?

Games as a Service refers to games that operate without initial purchasing costs and instead, make their profits on subscriptions or in-game purchases.

Games as a Service allows video games to be monetized even after they are released and it has been proven to keep players more engaged longer. Instead of beating a level, losing interest, and forgetting the game in the back of their closet, players are constantly brought back in with the promise of new and upgraded content.

GaaS games can often be streamed directly from the cloud to a user’s device, which allows them to be accessed from anywhere, anytime. It also allows for better cross-platform functionality, a crucial part of staying competitive in the gaming industry.

This strategy allows games to be updated weekly, monthly, or sometimes even daily to keep users engaged. New content often comes in the form of “drops” or “releases” when announcing new content—a technique that echoes Supreme’s luxury marketing strategy.

Games as a Service has also been referred to as “cloud gaming,” “gaming on-demand,” “live service games,” or “game streaming.” Some popular Games as a Service games include Candy Crush, Fortnite, Destiny, and Overwatch.

Features like unique billing and subscription services have completely shifted the gaming business model. In a Games as a Service environment, payments are unique and personalized, offering a wide range of accessibility to incoming gamers.

Games as a Service Payment Options

Flat billing, where a user is charged the same amount weekly, monthly, or annually
Volume-based billing, which changes the charge based on consumption
Tiered model, where a customer is charged based on a unit range

In addition to these updated payment options, Games as a Service players have the ability to pay via cryptocurrencies, in smaller payments, and with more frequency.

This new business model is certainly changing the landscape of gaming by offering accessibility, usability, and big profits all around.

Games as a Service Microtransactions

A microtransaction is a business model in which customers pay a low fee for a quick transaction, usually to purchase virtual items or unlock new features.

An example of this would be a player paying $2 to buy a new horse for their character to ride, or $1 …read more

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