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Do Flash Games Make Money?

by RossChops
21 replies
Does anyone here make money from flash games? I am thinking about having one developed but am not sure about its commercial potential.
#flash #games #make #money
  • Profile picture of the author InternetSuccess001
    Yes, people do.

    Have you heard of Farmville, Cityville, iow Zynga?

    If this is accurate, apparently they were 'valued' at ten BILLION dollars recently.
    New Reports Peg Zynga Valuation at $10 Billion, IPO Planned for 2012

    Apparently the company made 630 MILLION in profits. (Net revenue apparently was 1.8 billion).

    And I think they only have about 20-30 games in their portfolio, and are a 'relatively' new company (i.e., 2-3 years).

    So yes. It is possible to make money from Facebook games.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author RossChops
      Have you had any sucess with Flash games yourself? I understand that there are some very nice big budget flash based games out there and I would like to know if people think that there is still scope for smaller games to become popular without spending huge sums of money on advertising!


      Originally Posted by InternetSuccess001 View Post

      Yes, people do.

      Have you heard of Farmville, Cityville, iow Zynga?

      If this is accurate, apparently they were 'valued' at ten BILLION dollars recently.
      New Reports Peg Zynga Valuation at $10 Billion, IPO Planned for 2012

      Apparently the company made 630 MILLION in profits. (Net revenue apparently was 1.8 billion).

      And I think they only have about 20-30 games in their portfolio, and are a 'relatively' new company (i.e., 2-3 years).

      So yes. It is possible to make money from Facebook games.

      John
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      • Profile picture of the author Fred_Acker
        I tried playing around with flash games about 2 years ago. The problem is creating a game interesting enough to keep players coming back. The older games are for chumps like me who simply wanna spend a few minutes killing time.

        The folks at zynga are wicked smart. If you have ever looked at farmville you'll see that they incorporated profits into many angles (i.e. adverts, buying fv points etc)

        And the game itself is as addictive as drugs to some folks. To keep things running the player has to go back over and over again to keep planting and harvesting.

        It's a great model for im'ers I think. It's definitely got some bugs but people don't seem to care as long as they can keep their farms going.
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        • Profile picture of the author RossChops
          Thanks for the advice. I can see how the big games keep things interesting which keep people coming back for more time and time again. I dont think I will be able to afford a game as advanced as Farmville or anything close for that matter, but I was going to pay for simple quiz game that I think would have some interest in my niche.

          Do you think that if i promoted the game in forums and then offered special launch prize of say $100 for the top scorer after a month then I would drum up enough interest to send the game viral?
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          • Profile picture of the author Jason Clay
            I've made money with Flash games and other types of video games before. The bottom line is that your game needs to be fun and/or addictive if you want to make money. You should take advantage of Facebook's API so you can easily make the game a "social game" and have a higher chance of making it viral.
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          • Profile picture of the author InternetSuccess001
            Originally Posted by RossChops View Post

            Thanks for the advice. I can see how the big games keep things interesting which keep people coming back for more time and time again. I dont think I will be able to afford a game as advanced as Farmville or anything close for that matter, but I was going to pay for simple quiz game that I think would have some interest in my niche.

            Do you think that if i promoted the game in forums and then offered special launch prize of say $100 for the top scorer after a month then I would drum up enough interest to send the game viral?
            Depends what you mean by 'viral'. If you mean millions of dollars from a $100 investment, highly unlikely. Possible, but highly unlikely.

            But if you put in $100, made $200, pumped that $200 back in, made $400, etc, and repeated this process, yes.

            Nowadays there are a lot of really smart people doing a lot of really smart things. You need to keep at it to make a difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonMills
    I wonder if they make a majority from ads or games sites wanting to purchase them for use on their site
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  • Profile picture of the author esquiree
    i dont think they do anymore
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetSuccess001
    Zynga makes it's money primarily two ways.

    1. Upgrades within the software (i.e., buy new 'equipment', etc), which they do a lot of.
    2. Purchasing 3rd party services (i.e., as an affiliate in which they get a cut), & then offering you in-game credits for your purchase (which don't really cost them anything, aside from server costs).

    And yes, I have developed flash/facebook games.

    When Zynga started out, they actually spent very little on advertising. Once they did start seeing a significant income, they started pumping a lot of their earned $$$ into ads to make more money.

    There are a number of other game designers which have a following as well. Perhaps not millions, but enough to earn a decent wage from.

    Assuming you either are or have access to skilled developers, I'd say it would probably take you 2-3 months to put together a (decent) game that would start to get a following and give you an income.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author david pauls
    Yes, I know someone who sell his account because he already got high levels in flash games. Most on Facebook games like farmville, cityville and poker..
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  • Profile picture of the author rojerronny
    I made half the revenue with ads and half in grants and contests. 90% of ad revenues are due to MindJolt, although I would not count on MJ at this time. A sponsor can be a significant revenue if the game is on target. One of our games made more with the patronage of all our previous sponsors together.
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  • Profile picture of the author DotComBum
    Yes, you will make money with it if your flash game become very popular, you can even sell off the game for a profit after it become a hit.
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  • Profile picture of the author pennington33
    No not for me. Had the worst luck with Flash Games
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  • Profile picture of the author wuleinj
    Yes, it is free to play but need spend money when you want to buy stuff. Check out this one pockie ninja
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    • Profile picture of the author aneilfever
      Originally Posted by wuleinj View Post

      Yes, it is free to play but need spend money when you want to buy stuff.
      Yeah, that's the most popular way most game companies adopted to make big money. But there may be not many stuffs to sale in simple flash games. It's better to charge higher levels of the game but offer primary levels for free. Then, most player would like to play for having much more fun.
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    There was a script called Mumbly jumbly sold on this forum a while ago. The games were only simple and if you got a high enough score, then it took you to a CPA offer at the end of the game, so that might be a model worth pursueing.

    Im not sure how much people made from it as the thread seems to evaporate.
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  • Profile picture of the author wealth2012
    I bought some kind of social booking sites submitting service before but never get right.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrjosco
    There can be money in flash games, but it is a tough market. I have two friends who have invested in games. Both bypassed Facebook and developed games for the Android and iPhone market.

    One friend invested over 15k in the development but the initial reports I have heard back relay that the game has not caught on yet to make it look promising for him to recoup his investment.

    The other friend invested $100 in a very simple game that, in just a few weeks, has had over 100 buyers - bringing his investment back and now adding profit for each purchase.

    The games I have played on facebook have profited from me (see "Backyard Monsters"). Their model is set up that the early stages of the game move quickly, but the deeper in the game you get the longer things take. I have spent about $25 or more buying 'upgrades' or speed ups. The best thing, IMO, about their model is that I can play without spending money and not be at a disadvantage. Spending money is just an impulse thing to speed up the game.

    I also see many games use CPA offers as other ways to earn "bonuses" or upgrades.

    Flash games is just like the traditional board game market. They can take forever to develop, test, balance and distribute and the success can be hit or miss. It is really a special skill set to be able to create high quality, addictive games.
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  • Profile picture of the author Professional20
    I think that when it comes to monetizing games, you have to think of a unique game, yet make it fun and addicting. These gamers have to keep coming back for you to be able to monetize off of them. Unless you plan on selling the game itself, then you'd have to make the game very desirable/fun and also release some type of demo for a free "taste" of the game. All in all though, if you have the right idea of the type of game you want to make, there is ALOT of money to be made. Especially with all the hardcore gamers out there, including myself
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  • Profile picture of the author danlew
    Yes of course. Famous Facebook flash games like CityVille, Ninja Saga, iRok2, FarmVille and Gods War are making money through virtual currencies and some relevant ads displayed. Anything is possible.
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
      There's money in almost everything that exists.

      You just have to have the plan to make it work.

      Flash games are certainly no exception.
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