Five ways to earn
Games need money too
Kai and Remy built two great games, but running a studio costs money: developer fees, tools, a domain, and lots of everyone's time. A studio needs revenue coming in so it can keep making games.
For each game we make two choices: a money model (how it earns) and a home (where players get it). Here are five money models.
Freemium
- Free to start, pay for extrasAnyone can play free. Players who love it buy more levels, skins, or no ads. The name mixes "free" and "premium".
Good for: getting lots of players fast.
Watch out: the free part must be fun on its own. Never make it "pay to win", where paying players beat everyone else.
Donation
- Pay what you wantThe game is free with a "support us" button. Sites like itch.io let fans pay what they like.
Good for: small web games with a friendly fan community.
Watch out: most players never donate, so it rarely pays the bills alone.
Pick the model
Idea for a weekend web game: totally free on itch.io, with a button where fans can pay whatever they like if they enjoy it.
Which money model is Remy describing?
- Freemium
- Donation
- Paid app
Show the answer
Donation
Pay what you want, with nothing extra to unlock, is the donation model. Freemium would sell extra levels or items inside the game, and a paid app charges before you play.
Ad-based: our pick for Garden Defense
- Free, paid for by adsCompanies pay to show ads inside the game, and the studio gets a share of what they pay.
Good for: phone games with lots of short play sessions, like Garden Defense.
Watch out: too many ads make players quit, and games kids play have extra rules. More on that in the ads lesson.
Paid app: our pick for Hyper Shards
- Pay once, own it allNo ads and no extra shopping. Each sale earns money straight away.
Good for: complete games with lots to do, like a polished shooter.
Watch out: people want trailers and screenshots before they pay, so marketing matters.
In-game currency
- Coins and gemsPlayers buy a coin pack with real money, then spend coins on upgrades and items.
Good for: games with lots to unlock or collect.
Watch out: coins can hide the real price. In games kids play, a parent should approve every purchase.
Quick check
In most freemium games, most players never pay anything.
- True
- False
Show the answer
True
That is normal. A small group of big fans buys extras, and that pays for everyone else. It is why the free part has to be great on its own.
Try it
Match each game to its plan
Pick a money model and a home for each game. Get both right for a star.
Next: one deep dive per model
Now you know the five money models. Next we open each one up and follow the money, step by step:
- How paid games pay
- How freemium pays, and how in-game purchases pay
- Battle passes, and spotting dark patterns
- How donations pay, and how ads pay
- Bank accounts and taxes: where the money lands
- Selling on our own website: Stripe card payments, webhooks, currencies, sales tax and VAT, and refunds and disputes
- Pricing our games
Bolt says: Each deep dive ends with real maths: how much of every dollar a player spends actually reaches our bank account.
Fact-checked 9 October 2026
- itch.io: Payments and revenue sharing itch.io
- Google AdSense Help: AdSense revenue share support.google.com
- Apple Developer: App Store Small Business Program developer.apple.com
- Android Developers Blog: Expanded billing choice and lower fees on Google Play (June 2026) android-developers.googleblog.com