Direct-To-Consumer In Games: Promise vs. Reality
summary
Platforms no longer hand developers a simple 30% saving: bypassing stores still incurs 3–7% payment fees plus taxes, compliance and discovery costs, and Google’s Epic settlement effectively fixes ~20%‑style deals. Successful D2C builds use merchant‑of‑record partners, localized payments (LATAM prefers PIX), and new channels (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord) to own data and community. Expect early targets of 15–20% D2C share for small studios while larger groups push toward higher splits; Playa cites $1.2bn D2C run rate.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00Direct-to-consumer in games
- 1:06Panelist introductions
- 3:10Regulatory landscape for app stores
- 8:22Regional payment and compliance rules
- 14:23Epic Games vs Google Play settlement
- 17:57EU App Store regulations
- 21:09Revenue share and platform incentives
- 25:30D2C revenue growth benchmarks
- 29:55Hidden costs of D2C
- 30:38Player engagement channels
- 33:46Building community early
- 35:56Closing remarks and Q&A
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