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Casual Connect Europe: Free-to-play games generating 3 times as much daily revenue on web than on mobile, reveals Big Fish

Talking up the wondrous web

Casual Connect Europe: Free-to-play games generating 3 times as much daily revenue on web than on mobile, reveals Big Fish
Despite enjoying notable success on mobile, casual games giant Big Fish Games remains committed to the PC – and it wants developers to stay on board too.

Director of developer relations Jessica Sachs took to the stage at Casual Connect Europe in Hamburg to reveal that, while the firm's free-to-play games on mobile are performing strongly, when it comes to revenue, the web remains king.

The daily difference

Sachs said free-to-play games on Big Fish's web portal generate three times as much average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) as they do on mobile platforms.

As such, Sachs was keen to stress the continued importance of the web for free-to-play developers targeting casual users – it isn't all about iOS.

Interestingly, free-to-play players are also largely male – as opposed to the 87 percent female base that the firm's other premium casual games attract, who typically enjoy hidden object games – though developers need to make sure they scale the design of their games to work on smartphones.

Even in 2013, Sachs added, lots of PC-to-mobile ports across all genres aren't suitable for touchscreen play, with successful games smartly modifying the title's UI for smaller screens and less precise finger-based play.

"Developers making the move to mobile also need to be efficient with their assets," concluded Sachs. "The smaller the size of the game, the more chance there is it will be successful."

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.