Game servers hosting gameplay want to monetize their gaming communities to increase revenue. Monetizing game communities requires a better understanding of their players, choices, interests, preferences, and gaming patterns. A well-designed and strategic approach can help game servers develop means to earn money from hosting gameplay and gaming communities.
Monetizing game communities helps to earn money directly or indirectly from the players. Game servers can be created or developed in several ways, from setting up websites, in-game items, live streaming, subscriptions, and many more to earn cash.
Methods of Monetizing Gaming Communities
A few means to monetize or earn money from game communities are as follows.
1. Build an Online Store
Game servers can set up an online shop store to sell various game packets, packet upgrades, unlimited categories, and rewards and discounts. The products created and listed at the shop store must be strategically designed and developed based on players’ statistics, preferences, playing-pattern, and likes/dislikes. Items we can include in the online shop store are
- Unlimited Packets
Game owners can create unlimited game packets of different categories based on difficulty levels, user preferences, likes, dislikes, and many more to give a customized experience. These packets can be single purchases or recurring payments through seamless payment gateways.
- Packet Upgrades
Packet upgrades are upgrading an existing packet by adding a level of difficulty and various other game features such as themes, new characters, adding new players, etc. For example, a game with a single player or computer as its opponent can get upgraded by adding multiple players to the game. Upgrading packets and charging a fee for that helps build a steady income.
- Rewards and Discounts
Create rewards, conditional offers, and discount codes with the game packets to monetize your game server. We can run lucrative conditional offers like a limited-period discount or discount code for purchasing more than one packet to attract players.
2. In game-Items and Powerups
In-game items can be either cosmetic or functional. Skins, in-game items, can change the appearance of characters or weapons and are one of the most popular in the video game world. Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Word of Warcraft are the most popular games for selling in-game items. Dota2 accounts for approximately 73% of the game’s total revenue.
In games, power-ups are objects adding temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player’s character. They give different benefits to the player and are classified accordingly. A few examples of power-ups are giving players a new weapon, extra lives on death, shields, speed boots, etc.
Different Ways to Sell In-game Items and Power-Ups
Players can purchase in-game items for real money or in-game currency. Players can buy in-game items through the game client or third-party websites. Game servers can set up their online web store to sell these in-game items and power-ups in packet form.
3. Donations from Users
Donations are one of the most rewarding ways to earn money from users and monetize your game server. Donations are a type of reward that the game server receives from its players for good work and user-friendly features and functions.
Few platforms use the following tip or donation system:
- YouTube has Super Chat as its tipping system, where viewers can use tips to pin messages in your channel’s chat window.
- Twitch allows viewers to cheer using Bits, the platform’s virtual currency.
Game servers can accept donations from users or players through a dedicated donation system like Patreon for regular donations, Stream Elements for one-time donations or tips, and GoFundMe or Kickstarter for project-based funding.
Game servers can also set up a donation system and offer a fast and secure way to transfer money with payment platforms like PayPal and Paysafecard.
4. Charging Membership Fees or Paid Subscriptions
Charging membership fees is one of the ways to get regular payments. For example, Twitch has a paid subscription program that allows you to earn from a paid subscription if you are an affiliate or partner. Game servers with a strong community can charge membership fees or subscriptions by
- Allow paid players to get access to the community-intern Discord server.
- They can offer different functionalities or perks to paid members.
Players look for a good service and gaming experience that game servers can promise to provide through paid subscriptions.
5. Live Streaming
The platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook offer exposure to your game server and help fetch extra money. A few ways game servers can get revenue through live streaming are
- Live Stream Shopping
Live shopping combines the best of e-commerce, social media, and live video. These videos are live stream promoting and selling products to viewers. Game servers with online stores can connect to Restream, bringing the products conveniently to viewers.
- Sponsorships and Advertisement
Advertising in live streaming on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch can help fetch money. YouTube offers pre-roll and mid-roll ads. And Twitch offers in-stream ads, display, and native ad opportunities.
6. Communicating and Promoting on Discord Server
Gamer servers can integrate with Discord servers to provide a communication platform to players and monetize Discord servers.
A few ways to monetize Discord are
- Charging membership fees to access the server and its benefits.
- Set up a Discord store and add products like NFTs, membership, software products, digital courses, etc.
- Affiliate partnership and discord sponsorship.
VyHub – An All-in-one Management Platform Monetizing Your Gaming Community
VyHub is an all-in-one management platform that manages, simplifies, and monetizes your game server. The community add-on feature of VyHub saves time and effort in managing your player’s community. And the features such as a shop system, donation system, in-game items, payment gateways, Discord server integration, etc., help monetize the game community. The platform allows Game owners to design and develop creative in-game items, packets, and categories and find the best possible ways to monetize their game community.