Monetization

HTML5 Games: How to Make Money from Them?

From the beginning of the appearance of HTML5 and its related technologies, the game market of HTML5 is growing every day. In the primary years (nearly 2010) no one was able to predict the current level of the market of HTML5 games.

However, we should not ignore the flourishing of mobile phones and personal computers either; because they provide the bedrock more easily for us to make more complex games. In previous years, you could not use several elements in your game due to the constraint called “Hardware”. But when we look at recently developing games, there is almost no limitation on them; in a way that even 3D games can be developed by HTML5 easily. HTML5 games are entered even in mobile stores and game developers can export their games on Android or iOS just by using an HTML5 engine.

In the market of HTML5 games, every section is moving toward better facets and not only this is not a sign of fall but also we are hearing more amazing news from this market every day. So, the main question is, how to make money from HTML5 games?

How Can I Earn Money from This Market?

As the market of HTML5 games is so broad and is enhancing day to day, the ways of making money are various. You can use each method that I will mention in this article according to your interest and talent:

Game Making

If we imagine the HTML5 market as a pyramid, game developers would stand on the lowest and the most fundamental part of it. They are a necessity of the market as there will be no market without them. Working in this area can be so attractive and profitable. But you should be aware that if you do not have enough knowledge in this section, your initial pace will be slow.

There are different kinds of game makers in the HTML5 market and each of them meets a single basic need. Some have direct interaction with the gamers and some sell their games to other purchasers.

1. Publish in Google Play, Appstore, Steam, etc.

If I had written this article many years ago, maybe it would not have come to my mind to mention this way to the methods of earning money from HTML5 games; but due to the progress of HTML5 game engines, the game makers of this area can easily export their games on mobile phones too.

Having said that, this is a long-term way of making money and you will not be so remarkable at the beginning. But if you try to develop high-quality games and introduce your game to new users by using advertisements simultaneously, your validation will increase gradually and you will make a profit.

Your customers are ordinary people and gamers. They often download your game for free and they profit you by watching ads or buying an option in the game.

Prerequisites:

1. Knowledge of game design, working with engines and game programming languages.
2. Effort, research, and development to perceive the user’s behavior.

Pros:

1. Practicable with a fairly low level of investment.
2. Progressive growth.
3. Interaction with millions of users.
4. Friendly and intimate communication with the users.

Cons:

1. Low salary at the beginning.
2. Need for investment in advertising for faster progress.

2. Selling License and Source Code

Another way of earning money for HTML5 game makers is selling the source or the license of the game to online-game website owners, game publishers, and entertainment companies. This method is different from the previous; because the number of your customers is way lower. You would not communicate with ordinary people and your target audience is people who work on developing and designing games professionally. As they observe your game, they analyze it precisely and they pay money only if it is worth it. Moreover, they usually accept the games hard and late. So, in this market, you should be finding new customers constantly.

One of the best markets for selling source code and licenses of your games is Codecanyon. But if you are looking for more clients you should move beyond the source code selling websites and orientate yourself to the companies that need your games. Usually, companies that have big applications or work on advertising campaigns need many games to attract their customers.

Prerequisites:

1. Requires knowledge of game design, working with engines, and game programming languages.
2. High PR to communicate with potential customers.

Pros:

1. Practicable with a fairly low level of investment.
2. More initial income in comparison with the first method.
3. Interaction with professional customers.

Cons:

1. Requires immediate support.
2. Needs formal and administrative communication with the client and writing tedious contracts.
3. Requires company registration and tax transparency (in interaction with big companies).

3. Freelance

One of the most popular ways of making income in the HTML5 market is freelancing. This method is suitable for individuals who love to manage their own time and not have to work every day.

Freelancers initially start with a small number of customers in order to reach higher levels. After a while, they can have a competent website and CV to be much more remarkable. They can develop their work as a game developer in the game stores or license and source code sellers on their own websites.

To begin, you can join the freelancer-hiring websites and send your CV and information to attract customers.

Prerequisites:

1. Requires knowledge of programming and game making

Pros:

1. You can execute your work only on a personal laptop.
2. It can be done at home, during a trip, etc.
3. You can do it simultaneously with your main occupation.
4. Suitable for students and employees.

Cons:

1. Low income at the beginning.

Online Games Website

On the other side of the market, there are HTML5 game websites. They normally have big investments and many individuals who work there. Some of them determine the market direction and by focusing on a special game, they can make that game genre so popular. But don’t worry about this tumult! You should not be that big at the beginning; it’s just necessary to have sufficient capital and then by your effort you will be shown on many other websites.

To start working in this field, you should have some prerequisites:

1. A proper website for your target users.
2. Several games make users come to visit your website.
3. Continuous advertisements on Google and related websites to attract new clients.
4. Maybe some employees for doing the tasks.
5. Need to have trade and game publishing knowledge and know which game features attract customers.
6. High proficiency in management ability.
7. Knowledge of using data analytics and statistics tools.

Online games websites have various strategies to earn money that I will briefly explain below:

1. Advertising on Websites

This method is one of the best strategies for setting up an online game website. You do not receive any money from the users; Instead, you show them ads. If you keep a balance between the amount of shown ads and the time a user spends on the website, you can easily and highly make a profit.

Pros:

1. High and fairly quick income.
2. No need to widely know programming and game-making knowledge (If you collaborate with game development studios).

Cons:

1. Needs a huge amount of capital at the beginning.
2. You may make a loss when you start.
3. Strong rivals.

2. Subscription Selling

The more complicated version of the previous method is to recommend subscription payments to the users. They have to pay a specific price monthly or annually as a subscription fee and they can use more facilities on your website. This strategy can contain the last method too. This means that you show ads to the users who have not paid a subscription fee and diminish access to all features of the website. But for the users who have paid, all options are open to using.

Pros:

1. High and fairly quick income, even more than the previous method.
2. No need to widely know programming and game-making knowledge (If you collaborate with game development studios).
3. Better management of the users in comparison with the previous method.

Cons:

1. Needs a huge amount of capital at the beginning, even more than the previous method.
2. You may make a loss when you start.
3. Strong rivals.

A Tip About Online Games Website

Due to the strong rivals in this area, you should always be up-to-date and add new games to your website. Moreover, sometimes your website users have conflicts with a game that makes continuing playing impossible. So you should immediately omit the bugs. Therefore, you should look for developer teams that have a large number of games and their game-making has a high quality and pace. They also should undertake to solve and fix the problems of their games.

Education

One of the most attractive methods for earning money from the HTML5 games market is to instruct this profession. I explained this issue at the end of the article; because you will not be eligible to teach this field unless you have some experience in the aforementioned cases.

Unfortunately, HTML5 game-making tutorials have been widely neglected so far and if we have a quick comparison with Unity3D tutorials, the disparity is so evident. You may ask why I spoke of Unity3D versus HTML5. Actually, you can make HTML5 games with Unity3D too, but I do not find it proper; at least at the present time. If you have any experience in one of the mentioned fields, I and the society of HTML5 games would be so glad if you share with the others.

Prerequisites:

1. Enough experience and knowledge in the field you want to instruct.
2. The spirit of searching and exploring new cases.
3. Being able to accept criticisms.

Pros:

1. You can work at home, during a trip, etc.
2. You can do it simultaneously with your main occupation.
3. Suitable for students and employees.
4. Requires at least a camera, sound, and lighting tools.

Cons:

1. Low income at the beginning.
2. The possibility of an increase in rivals number due to low initial investment.

Conclusion

The market of HTML5 games is sharply growing and making money from this market is getting more popular day to day. Each person, according to his talent and tendency, can enter this broad market and earn money. There are two main active groups: 1) Game makers and 2) Online games websites that are purchasers of the first group.

You should primarily choose some criteria including your interest in game making and design, the amount of your capital, your management ability, your lifestyle, etc. in order to find the best way of having income in this wide market.