Freemium games aren’t new and there is a reason that that category has graced the top of the charts on iOS for a long time now. Fortnite: Battle Royale, however, has rushed into the Freemium Game Revenue lead, making $15 million in the first three weeks since launch. The game, in which you fight it out against 99 other players to be the last man/team standing, is free to download on iPhone. You don’t buy items to increase your skills or character’s strength, you just buy costumes and dance moves. Obviously, the lack of game-changing in-app purchases hasn’t hurt the bottom line for Epic Game’s wildly popular third-person shooter and crafting game.
What Parents Should Know
For my thoughts on shooter games and kids, you can read my game reviews and listen to this BecauseFamily Podcast episode. As far as in-app purchases go, it is up to you. You should know how to set up your kids’ devices to not allow purchases without approval. Failure to set this up will likely lead to surprise expenses as the temptation for that new dinosaur hat or “Carlton” dance moves becomes too great for your kid to withstand.
My advice is for you to talk to your kids about the time they spend playing games on their devices. Make sure you have an understanding of what a healthy amount of time on devices looks like. Also be sure that you have your credit card settings secured to keep unwanted purchases from surprising you next month. Again, talk to your kids about spending your money on the games they play. I agree that these developers deserve every dollar they make from their games. I also strongly believe that if a kid is underage, it is up to the parents to regulate whether or not their child can spend money on their favorite games. That is up to you as mom or dad.