PocketGamer.biz reports that the Ninth Circuit has reversed their initial granting of the stay, instead now granting Epic’s motion for reconsideration on the stay. The article goes on to quote Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stating that “Apple’s delaying tactics have come to an end.”

Now the case will return to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for additional determinations regarding Apple’s fees.

The original ruling was released on April 30, 2025, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers declaring that Apple’s anti-steering policies for purchases outside of apps are anticompetitive and to be discontinued. That was to be effective immediately at the time the ruling was released, but various requests and appeals from Apple have affected the ruling’s application. A request by Apple for stay was initially denied in June 2025, but PocketGamer.biz reports that the court had temporarily paused the ruling early this month. Epic challenged the pause, which resulted in this new reversal and the court stating that Apple had not sufficiently shown how the original ruling would cause them irreparable harm.

The original ruling can be read as linked from the PocketGamer.biz article linked above. 

About FastSpring

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps! 

Learn more about FastSpring for mobile apps or FastSpring for games. 

The post News: Apple Loses Stay Against Mandate in Epic Case appeared first on FastSpring.

Using a fictional firefighting game called Blaze Alert to demonstrate real-world scenarios, David illustrates what a high-quality player experience looks like: a clear call-to-action (CTA) with distinct value propositions, a fluid transition to the store, and the inclusion of native payment options such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. 

By following these principles, publishers can create a smooth purchase flow that respects the player’s time and maximizes potential profit.

The video outlines several frequent mistakes, such as failing to mention exclusive web store bonuses — like extra levels or medals — within the game’s CTA, or neglecting to use authentication tokens to automatically log players into the store. David also highlights the importance of keeping “hot deals” sections populated and ensuring that thank-you pages include a direct link or automatic return to the game to keep players engaged. 

Beyond the immediate purchase flow, David touches on technical optimizations such as achieving page load times under two seconds and utilizing specific Open Graph data for social media promotion on platforms such as Discord.

For developers looking to audit their own D2C strategy and supercharge their conversion rates, FastSpring offers expert consultations at fastspring.gg.

The post Video: Avoid These Mistakes When Steering to Your Game’s Web Store appeared first on FastSpring.

The settlement is yet to be approved, but the revisions include a breaking out of Play Store fees into two categories: service fees, and billing fees. 

What Are the New Fees Google Is Proposing?

Previously, the 30% fee contained what is now known as the service fee and the billing fee. With this announcement, Google is splitting that in two.

The service fee will be 20% for purchases made on existing installs, 15% for new installs, and 10% for recurring subscriptions.

The billing fee is 5% for processing payments through Google Play’s billing system.

This means that for the vast majority of transactions (i.e., existing games that process in-app payments through Google Play), the fee is 25%, only 5% less than the previous 30% single fee.

Note that the above fee calculations apply to earnings after the first 1M; the service fee on the first 1M is only 10%, adding up to 15% if the 5% billing fee is added. Please refer to the Google announcement linked above for clarification on the various fees and how they add up.

Why Is Google Proposing Two Separate Kinds of Fees?

In the U.S., the separate fees appear to be in service of Google’s intention to allow developers to offer their own billing systems, with the Standard service fees being charged regardless of billing method, and then the Google Play BIlling Fee charged additionally for using Google Play Billing. 

When Will the Google Play Store Fee Revisions Take Effect?

Per Google’s announcement, these fee changes are being rolled out on a staggered schedule, first hitting the EEA, UK, and U.S. by June 30. 

Then the changes will hit Australia by Sep. 30, Korea and Japan by Dec. 31, and the rest of the world by Sep. 30 of 2027.

Where Can You Learn More About the Proposed Google Play Store Fee Changes?

Additional fee breakout details and terms can be found in the Google post linked above. Additionally, The Verge has published a redlined version of the five-page court document outlining Google’s and Epic’s proposed changes, as well as the full 15-page court filings (with redactions).

FastSpring has been covering cases such as this one since 2021. To read up on the history of the Google vs. Epic cases (and other global cases and regulations regarding mobile app and games monetization), check out FastSpring’s Industry News archive.

About FastSpring

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps! 

Learn more about FastSpring for mobile apps or FastSpring for games. 

The post Google Revises Play Store Fees to Give Publishers a Minuscule 5% Discount appeared first on FastSpring.

• App2web flows enable mobile app and mobile game developers to steer users to their own external web store to complete transactions outside the “walled gardens” of Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.
• Doing so allows developers to avoid hefty commissions paid to app stores — but also to more directly own their relationship with users and gather invaluable first-party data.
• Steer Safe™ from FastSpring offers a quick, simple way to launch app2web with secure, localized checkout and the most popular global payment methods.

For over a decade, the mobile app economy was defined by the walled gardens of two tech behemoths: Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. For developers of digital-first businesses — including mobile apps and mobile games — hefty commission fees of 15% to 30% were par for the course, a necessary evil to gain access to these marketplaces and consumers who frequent them.

Today, that’s changing. A series of landmark legal rulings and shifting regulations around the world are breaking down those walls, making mobile monetization outside of app stores possible and offering developers a way around those hefty fees.

App2web flows, which steer users from within an app to your external web store to complete a purchase, are a big part of that.

Below, we cover:

• The regulatory and legal landscape — and why app2web is emerging now.
• The benefits of app2web.
• A step-by-step guide to launching app2web in the U.S.
• In-app steering with Steer Safe™ from FastSpring.
• How to leverage your App2Web first-party data.
• How to monetize with web2app in addition to app2web.
• Creating one connected commerce experience with FastSpring.
• Frequently asked questions about mobile app app2web monetization.

Prefer to watch a video presentation about app2web monetization? Our experts presented an earlier version of this content at a Business of Apps event in Oct. 2025. Watch the full video here.

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, VAT and sales tax compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps! Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The Shifting Regulatory Landscape Around App Stores and Mobile Monetization

The transition to web-based monetization is powered by a number of legal decisions that have redefined what steering looks like for mobile developers. These rulings have effectively legalized and protected the practice of guiding users to a website to find a better deal or additional options.

• Epic v. Apple (U.S.): In April 2025, rulings established that Apple cannot prevent iOS developers in the United States from including links in their apps that direct users to an external website for payments. Further decisions clarified that Apple cannot charge developers commission fees on external purchases made outside the App Store.
• Epic v. Google (U.S.): Similar steering capabilities for Android apps in the United States became available in late 2025 after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Google’s request for a stay on the deadline to open the Google Play Store to alternative options by October 22, 2025.
• Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act: This regulation, which went into effect in December 2025, unlocks steering on both iOS and Android platforms for developers in the Japanese market.

These changes mean that, for the first time, you can explicitly message users in-app about better deals or exclusive content available on your own web store without fear of account suspension.

Why Go App2Web? (Hint: It’s About More Than Fees)

While saving on marketplace commissions is a significant driver, they aren’t the only reason top-tier developers want to sell outside app stores. In a 2025 survey of mobile gaming companies, top reasons for adopting a direct-to-consumer (D2C) web store included:

• Improved access to customer data and insights.
• More control over pricing and promotions.
• Improved brand visibility and loyalty.
• The opportunity to build a direct relationship with players.

Read the results of our entire gaming industry survey here.

The Value of First-Party Data

When a user transacts through a traditional app store, the marketplace owns the relationship, often providing the developer with anonymized data only. By moving the transaction to your web store, you capture the most valuable piece of data for any business: the customer’s email address.

Having direct access to user data — including geography, platform, language, name, and purchase history — allows you to move from reactive to proactive marketing. You can implement automated onboarding flows, renewal reminders, and win-back campaigns to enhance adoption, promote loyalty, and mitigate churn.

Solving the Attribution Gap

One of the greatest challenges in mobile marketing is the attribution gap created by walled garden ecosystems. Web stores allow you to embed tracking pixels from platforms such as Meta and Google — so you can see exactly which ad campaigns drive paid conversions, rather than just app installs.

This feedback loop is essential for optimizing your ad spend, allowing you to double down on high-performing campaigns and create lookalike audiences based on your best customers.

Pricing and Bundling Flexibility

The web offers freedom and flexibility that app stores just can’t match. On your web store, you can experiment with tiered pricing, custom bundles, or loyalty rewards, with no requirement that they fit into Apple or Google’s rigid SKU structures.

For example, you might offer a “Buy Direct” bonus, such as offering a discounted subscription  or a month of free service, to incentivize the jump to your web store.

How to Launch App2Web in the US

Launching app2web monetization doesn’t require building a massive ecommerce platform. You can start with a simple, secure checkout loop that integrates with your existing back-end systems.

Step 1: Add In-App Buy Buttons

Place clear calls to action (CTA) buy buttons in appropriate places within your app or game — such as your paywall, your in-game store, or a settings menu — that link to your checkout experience or web store.

In the U.S., you can use explicit messaging such as “Buy direct and save” to guide users.

Step 2: Pass Dynamic URL Variables

To ensure the transition is seamless, your app needs to pass data over to your web store. When a user taps the Buy button, use dynamic URL variables to pass their User ID, product tokens, and authentication details to the back-end system.

This allows your web store to recognize the user instantly without requiring them to log in again and adding unnecessary friction to the checkout process. It helps you track who that person is, what they’re doing, and their entitlements.

Then you can use that data to leverage segmentation, for example, or to offer promotions or discounts as related to that user.

Step 3: Localized Web Checkout

With web checkout, you can control the design, data collection, and payment methods you accept. It doesn’t have to be complicated — it can be as simple as your logo, the product they’re purchasing, and the payment methods offered.

It’s crucial to offer localized payment methods that are familiar to your users in different jurisdictions. For example, U.S. users are familiar with mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, which offer quick, seamless checkout for them. In Brazil, users may prefer Pix, while in India, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is more popular.

Beyond payment methods, your web checkout may also need to be translated into other languages and prices converted into the user’s currency.

Step 4: Communicate With Back-End Systems to Allow In-App Entitlements

Once the purchase is complete, your commerce platform sends a signal — typically via a webhook or API — to your back-end.

Your internal systems then update the user’s account and unlock the digital product or subscription. At the same time, a deep link redirects the user back to your app, where the purchase is reflected in near real-time — as few as 10-15 seconds.

In-App Steering With Steer Safe™ From FastSpring

In addition to circumventing app store fees and collecting user data, another key goal of the flow is driving value for your users. That means creating a smooth, secure loop where the user finishes their checkout on the web, your systems automatically sync, and the app reflects the purchase in near real-time.

If all of that sounds a bit complicated to pull off, FastSpring can help. Our approach to app2web steering — called Steer Safe™ — makes it simple for you to steer users from in-app experiences to secure, localized checkout, and back to your app, all in a matter of seconds. It’s a much faster and easier way to deploy app2web as soon as possible.

It’s back-end agnostic — meaning it works with whatever back-end system you’re using — and is available for both iOS and Android mobile apps.

Learn more about Steer Safe™ from FastSpring.

Leveraging Your App2Web First-Party Data

When you’re just operating in app stores, it can be very challenging to identify who your users are, collect their email addresses, and create a conversation with them. By using the app2web flow, you unlock a lot of that data.

Once you’ve established that direct line to your customers through your web store, you can transform your growth strategy from generic to highly personalized.

Ad Targeting and Retargeting

With a web store, you’re no longer flying blind. By connecting your first-party data to your ad platforms, you can:

• Identify high-value campaigns: Know which creative assets and which audiences are driving the most revenue.
• Automate targeting: Ad platforms like Google and Meta can automatically use this data — along with their own algorithms — to better target your ads to the users most likely to convert.
• Effective retargeting: Show ads specifically to users who visited your web store but didn’t complete a purchase.
• Build “lookalike” audiences: Upload your list of converted web buyers to find new users with similar characteristics.

Email Marketing

Your email list is your most direct channel for retention, and — as we mentioned above — email addresses are the most valuable piece of data you can collect via app2web.

When you connect this and other first-party data to your email marketing platform, you can easily tailor and target your email campaigns.

• Personalized onboarding: Send tutorials and tips based on the specific product or bundle they purchased.
• Automated renewals: Remind subscription users of upcoming renewals with a link to manage their account on the web.
• Win-back and re-engagement flows: If a user hasn’t logged in for 30 days, trigger an email offer with a web-exclusive discount to bring them back.
• Segmentation: Segment users to deliver the right message, to the right people, at exactly the right time.

Monetizing With Web2App In Addition to App2Web

Whether you’re in a region where app2web isn’t allowed, or you simply want to improve revenue and user acquisition, web2app is a valuable addition to your toolbox.

This flow creates a funnel through which you can drive user acquisition, and helps avoid fees on the app store. To do this, you’ll need a few parts: social ads or organic posts, a website landing page, and a checkout.

Instead of using the app store as your primary user acquisition channel, you can leverage paid social platforms like Meta, TikTok, or Google Search to send traffic directly to your website. Instead of being reliant solely on the app store listing, you can take ownership of the entire user journey.

When a user clicks on an ad, they land on a high-converting page you’ve designed without the distractions — or limitations — of the app store pages. This also allows you to implement other features like robust A/B testing, pixel tracking, and retargeting strategies that contribute to additional access to user data.

Then at checkout, you gain the benefit of bypassing the standard 15%-30% platform commissions and can offer features on your site that decrease customer churn, such as saved payment methods and account management. You can also offer flexible pricing, bundle products, or discounts that wouldn’t be otherwise feasible if you were paying the cut to the app store.

Once the transaction is finished, you’ll send your user to an app store page link to download and log in, where their purchase is already waiting for them.

Ultimately, this strategy transforms your app from a discovery-dependent product into a conversion-focused powerhouse, where you’re able to control user acquisition from channels outside of the app marketplaces while still keeping the flows that already work for you.

Other Web2App Tips

Funnels aren’t the only way you can improve user acquisition on your website with web2app. Below are a few more tips for how you can use it to improve website conversions and user acquisition:

Incentivizing the Web Visit

To encourage users to leave the app and visit your site, offer additional value that isn’t available in the mobile app interface:

• Additional free assets: Templates, PDFs, exclusive in-app themes, or resource libraries.
• Industry content: Educational content, industry insights, and tutorials.
• Site-exclusive events: Webinars, livestreams, Q&As, or site-exclusive challenges.
• Community: Forums, community showcases, leaderboards, etc.
• Loyalty rewards: Badges or loyalty currency for in-app purchases.
• Reports and tracking: Exportable data summaries and personalized dashboards.

How to Launch Web2App Store Flows

1. Create a product page with the products available to purchase for your customers. If you only offer a single product, this can be a single, simple page. For more extensive product catalogs, a full web store may work better.
2. Integrate the checkout experience into your product page as a simple pop-up checkout, for example, or a more customizable embedded checkout. A shopping cart feature may be worthwhile if you offer many products or add-ons.
3. Process user payments on your web store using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other popular, preferred, and localized payment methods, depending on the jurisdictions where your users live.
4. Communicate with back-end systems via webhooks and APIs to allow in-app entitlements — confirm purchases, deliver subscriptions, unlock content, etc. — and send users back to the app as quickly as possible following a purchase.

When done well, checkout should feel like a part of a more holistic experience that users have with your brand. Ensuring the process is seamless and quick — and that the design is consistent across your app, web store, and checkout flow — will help guide users through the payment process and mitigate any drop-off or abandonment.

One Connected Commerce Experience With FastSpring

App2web isn’t a standalone channel or strategy. Think of it more like an additive layer to your existing app and web strategy.

Together, app2web and web2app flows unlock new revenue and richer first-party data. It’s not just about billing, but about developing a direct relationship with your users.

The question is no longer whether you should launch direct monetization on your website, but how quickly you can get it live to start owning your customer relationships. With FastSpring, it’s easier than ever to connect app2web and web2app flows to your app, helping you convert more, everywhere.

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, VAT and sales tax compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps! Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions About App2Web Monetization for Mobile Developers

What Is App2Web and How Does It Benefit Mobile Developers?

App2web flows enable mobile app and mobile game developers to steer users to their own external web shop to complete transactions outside the walled gardens of Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.

Benefits for developers include:

• Improved access to customer data and insights.
• More control over pricing and promotions.
• Improved brand visibility and loyalty.
• The opportunity to build a direct relationship with players.

Can I Steer iOS and Android Users to My Web Store?

As of this writing, direct and explicit steering is allowed for users in the U.S. and Japan.

For users outside these jurisdictions, developers can deploy web2app flows: Instead of linking directly to a payment page, you can steer users to non-payment pages — i.e., pages that provide some non-transactional value.

It’s less direct, but this strategy works as a one-two punch: you bring them to the web for content, and once they have an account, you can market the store to them directly.

Ready to try FastSpring? Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post Beyond the App Store: A Guide to App2Web Mobile Monetization appeared first on FastSpring.

What Is the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA) and When Does It Go Into Effect?

The Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA) goes into effect on December 18, 2025 and will, among other things, require companies such as Apple and Google to allow third-party payment systems and third-party app stores within their mobile ecosystems.

Is Japan’s MSCA Similar to What Other Countries and Unions Are Doing?

Many countries around the world are enacting similar regulations and laws around mobile steering for payments — also referred to as D2C (direct to consumer) or app2web — including the EU, Brazil, and the U.S. (there are separate ongoing legal cases involving Google and Apple).

However, the MSCA in Japan is unique for a couple of reasons:

• It will affect both Android and iOS, not distinguishing between the platforms.
• It addresses native payments, or payments directly inside the game processed by a third party such as FastSpring.

Since this is the first ruling impactfully addressing native payments, this is an area we’ll be monitoring closely.

What Platforms Will Be Affected by the MSCA?

This act will affect any platforms that the act qualifies as “designated providers,” which we can safely assume includes the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

What Other Changes Does the MSCA Include?

Steering is only one of many changes that will be enforced when the MSCA takes effect in Japan in December. To read more about how the act unlocks alternative app stores, requires greater transparency in the platforms’ app review process, and ultimately represents a targeted effort to enable fair and open digital markets, you can find the “tentative translation” English version of the guidelines as published by the JFTC here. 

Related Reading

• Japan Releases ‘Mobile Software Competition Act Guidelines’ Targeting Apple and Google (August 2025)
• Japan Enacts Regulatory Law Targeting Apple and Google Smartphone Marketplace Dominance (June 2024)

About FastSpring

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For nearly two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps!

The post News: Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act Opens Up Steering This Month appeared first on FastSpring.

As part of our participation in the event, gaming experts from FastSpring took part in multiple talks on the importance — and recent industry growth — of D2C and web store adoption.

Check out the video and recaps below for more info on our chats, “Surprising Drivers for D2C Adoption and Success,” and “How to Encourage Players to Utilise Your Web Stores.”

FastSpring is how gaming publishers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games! To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

Fireside Chat: Surprising Drivers for D2C Adoption and Success

As part of the Webstore Wizardry track, FastSpring’s Head of Gaming Chip Thurston joined Keywords Studios’ Head of Global Player Engagement Solutions Peter Gerson to discuss what’s driving unprecedented growth in direct-to-consumer monetization.

This talk centered around the findings of a targeted survey FastSpring ran asking over 100 gaming industry leaders what they’re doing regarding D2C (and if they’re not doing it, what they’re planning).

Check out Chip and Peter’s discussion and additional insights in this video:

 Read the survey results in detail here. 

Panel: How to Encourage Players to Utilise Your Web Stores

Also in the Webstore Wizardry track, FastSpring’s Sales Team Lead for EMEA Tony Markov joined a panel of other experts that discussed some of the most effective ways to motivate players to use web stores more.

The panel also included Chloe Cave (Head of Growth at NEON), Gustav Pastucha (Strategic Partnerships at Pixel Federation), Archie Stonehill (Chief Growth Officer at Stash.gg), and Ioannis Lefkaditis (General Manager at Yodo1 Games), with the panel moderated by Charlie Scowen (Events Content Coordinator at Steel Media)

Panelists answered questions including:

• What data are gaming partners such as FastSpring, NEON, and Stash seeing around D2C?
• What are game developers and publishers seeing on their side?
• Are enough developers taking advantage of webstores, and for those that aren’t, why aren’t they? 
• What are panelists doing to educate developers who are unsure about setting up web shops?
• What is the cost of setting up a web store or working with a partner?
• What methods can you use to get players to spend (such as promotions, daily/weekly/monthly offers, or personalized offers)? Are there any particular rules that are different from app stores?
• An audience question around the size of the gaming industry and expected industry growth overall.

You can view the full the panel discussion on YouTube. 

Partner With FastSpring to Monetize Your Web Store

FastSpring is how gaming publishers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. 

FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games! 

To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

Ready to see more now? Schedule a personal demo with one of our experts, or sign up to check out our platform for yourself.

The post PGC Helsinki Sessions: Video and Recap on FastSpring’s D2C and Web Store Talks appeared first on FastSpring.

FastSpring recently partnered with Omdia — sibling company to GDC and GameDeveloper.com — to survey over 100 highly targeted and qualified gaming industry executives about their monetization models and strategies. 

Every single one of them was either already using a direct-to-consumer monetization model or at least considering it.

Most of those who aren’t already using it intend to adopt it within the next 12 months.

Here’s what gaming industry pros are doing to take their games’ monetization strategies into the future.

Read on to learn:

• Details about who we surveyed.
• Part 1: What we learned from the overall group.
• Part 2: Why and how the D2C crowd is already doing it.
• Part 3: What the Not-Yet-Doing-D2C crowd is considering.
• How FastSpring can help you implement D2C.

FastSpring is how gaming publishers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games! To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

Who We Surveyed

In July through Aug. 2025, Omdia and FastSpring surveyed gaming industry leaders about their approaches to — and perceptions of — direct-to-consumer monetization.

Here are the details on who we included in the below data.

Their Roles and Functions

Of the 105 video game pros surveyed, 45% are senior executives, 25% are C-suite execs, 20% are directors, and 10% are senior managers. 

The primary job functions of respondents include 46% leadership/management, 25% business development, 14% DevOps, 11% strategy, and 4% monetization. 

Their Companies

Around half of respondents are at companies headquartered in the U.S., and half are at companies headquartered throughout Europe. 

The size of companies represented spans a wide range of employee counts, with 43% working at companies with 500 people or more, 18% with 200-499 people, 33% with 100-199 people, and 6% with 20-99 people.

All companies represented have an annual revenue of at least USD 1 million, with 10% in the $1 million to $9.99 million range, 50% in the $10 million to $99.99 million range, 31% in the $100 million to $499.99 million range, 8% in the $500 million to $1 billion range, and 1% over $1 billion.

Their Games

When asked which platforms they develop games for (checking all that apply), 100% of respondents answered iOS, and 96% answered Android. Around a quarter to a third of respondents develop games for PS5, Switch, web/browser, Xbox Series X/S, or VR. Less than 20% of respondents develop games for Xbox One, PS4, or Switch 2.

Respondents were also able to choose multiple options from a list of game genres they’re currently developing for. Driving/racing, simulation, RPG, shooter, or card games were each selected at a rate of around 30%-40%. Around 20% each are sports, strategy, or AR/location-based. Ten percent or less of the genres selected are lifestyle, arcade, casino, or puzzle games. 

When asked which single market segment best describes the segment their current game belongs to, 34% said midcore, 30% said hybridcasual, 18% said casual, 10% said hardcore, and 7% said hypercasual.

Part 1: What We Learned About Games Monetization From 105 Gaming Industry Professionals

They Monetize Their Games in Many Ways

The video games industry leaders we polled were given a list of monetization methods and asked to select all that apply. 

Almost two-thirds of respondents are using paid in-game items/content, in-game currency, and/or battle passes/in-game subscriptions. 

Unsurprisingly, these top three monetization methods all work very well for D2C monetization: It’s easy for a player to purchase them directly from the publisher’s web store and then have access to the products back in the game via a linked account.

More moderately, digital releases (i.e., upfront payment) are used by 45% of those polled, inclusion in a subscription service is used by 35%, and in-game advertising is used by 30%. Much less frequently, only 18% are utilizing physical retail release, 15% paid DLC, and 13% loot boxes/other randomized rewards.

More Than Half Are Already Doing D2C

While the direct-to-consumer monetization model may still seem nascent to some, it has spread quickly across the gaming industry.

Of the 105 gaming leaders we surveyed, 57% are already doing D2C.

(Check out more detailed insights from each of these segments in Part 2 [doing D2C] and Part 3 [not yet doing D2C] below.)

We expect to see that percentage climb quickly — not only because of continually developing industry news related to marketplaces opening up more to D2C around the world, but also because that’s what the industry leaders are telling us they’re planning to do.

Nearly All Who Aren’t Doing D2C Yet Are Planning To

Of the 43% of respondents who haven’t yet implemented a D2C monetization method, 96% of them are planning to — 60% of them within the next 12mo. 

Thirty-six percent said they’re planning to, but they have no specific timeframe yet for implementation. 

Only 4% said Considering but not yet sure. 

To further clarify, there were response options of “No plans currently” or “Don’t know,” but zero respondents selected either of those answers. 

What does this all mean?

Every leader we surveyed is considering investing in D2C, if they don’t have it set up already.

That Means = 98% of Industry Leaders Are Either Already Doing D2C or Planning To

When we combine the group of respondents who are already using D2C for their games, with the group of those who are planning to start (with or without a timeline), 98% of all respondents are planning for D2C.

And if you limit that group to those already using D2C (assuming they continue using it) and those who have a plan to start using it within 12 months, 83% of all those surveyed are saying they will be using D2C a year from now.

Will you be?

If your game doesn’t yet offer a way for players to make purchases directly — or if you don’t at least have a plan in place to offer it soon — you are putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage. 

Or, at the very least, you may be missing out on extra revenue.

Here’s more information on how and why many industry leaders are already offering D2C purchasing.

Part 2: Why and How the D2C Crowd Is Already Doing It

There Are Varied Reasons to Implement D2C Monetization

There are a lot of great reasons to include D2C in your game’s monetization strategy — and you may be surprised by the top reasons industry leaders said they’re doing it.

Respondents were shown five randomized options and could also enter their own answer. We asked them to pick (or enter) their top three reasons for adopting a D2C web store.

There was no clear winner, with all five options receiving 43%-63% of the selections made. (No unique entries were submitted.)

However, the spread of answers was slightly different from what we were expecting. While increasing profit margins is a great reason to have a web store for your game, it fell solidly in the middle of answers at 55%, equal to improving brand visibility and loyalty. 

Higher on the list, respondents said they were most concerned with improving access to customer data and insights (63%) as well as gaining more control over pricing and promotions (62%).

Building a direct relationship with players was the least selected reason, but it still received 43% of selections. 

All of this suggests that the reasons industry leaders invest in a D2C setup can differ for each game or company, but each one is still relatively common as a motivator.

Court Cases Compel Them

While there are specific internal drivers leading any given gaming publisher or games developer to want a D2C web shop for a game, there are also external motivators that open the doors and make it even more compelling.

We asked the 60 respondents who are already running D2C web stores if the recent Epic Games v. Apple court ruling on the U.S. App Store caused them to increase their investment in D2C. 

And 95% of respondents said yes.

Only 5% said no.

To better gauge gaming decision makers’ clarity around international D2C legal developments, we asked all 105 respondents how confident they are in understanding the ongoing legal rulings and policies regarding D2C. We specifically mentioned the Epic Games v. Apple ruling in the U.S., the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the EU, the Smartphone Act in Japan, and “etc.”

While 97% said they have some level of confidence around the topic, this question has much more nuanced answers than the previous one, with only 26% being very confident, but the majority at 71% saying they are “somewhat confident.”  Only 3% said they are not very confident.

We feature even more mobile and gaming industry news on our blog, including news about Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act Guidelines, Brazil calling for Apple to allow steering, the European Commission fining Apple for preventing steering, the Epic Games antitrust case against Google in the U.S., and more. Visit our Industry News archive for more articles.

They’re Using Steering, and They’re All Promoting It In App

Steering is generally defined as sending players from your game or mobile app to somewhere off platform where they can make a purchase, and there are really only three different approaches to D2C steering. 

The vast majority (98%) of industry leaders polled are using steering in some manner. 

Almost two-thirds say they are allowing players to navigate directly from their app to the game’s web store. 

A little over one-third are utilizing a more indirect approach, allowing players to navigate from the mobile app to the game’s website, but not directly to the web store. Only one respondent said they are not allowing players to navigate from the mobile app to the website or web store. 

We also asked how they’re approaching messaging around steering and the use of third-party payments. 

Most commonly, 72% are promoting in app the ability to purchase via web store, and they’re explicitly mentioning price benefits. Only 28% are promoting their web store in app without explicitly mentioning price benefits. 

Additional choices were offered for this question, but no one selected “Allow purchases via web store with no messaging in the mobile app” or “Don’t know.”

It’s clear that just having the incentive to purchase via D2C channels is not enough. Publishers are seeing success from messaging that explains that benefit to their players, and that’s why recent rulings have been so impactful. We can now be more transparent than ever before with our players about the benefits of purchasing D2C, and that is unlocking unprecedented growth.

Revenue Share From D2C Is Significant — and Increasing

To learn more about D2C revenue, we asked respondents how much of their overall revenue is being driven by D2C, and how the share of overall revenue from D2C has changed in the last 12 months.

Note: We asked general revenue percentage questions for publishers’ revenue across their full catalog of games, not for individual games’ revenue. Had individual games been included, we expect the distribution would have been broader with games reaching much higher percentages. 

Regarding what percentage of overall revenue is driven by D2C, all answers landed somewhere between 5% and 49% (no one selected less than 5% or more than 50%), with the vast majority landing somewhere between 10%-29% of revenue. 

Although the smallest group of respondents said that 30%-49% of their revenue is thanks to D2C, it’s a testament to the powerful potential of a strong web store strategy that such a huge stream of revenue can flow through a channel with much lower fees than traditional app marketplaces. 

We asked Justin Sacks of Nexus whether mobile games can really achieve >50% of their revenue from D2C. Listen to or watch his answer on Justin’s episode of our Growth Stage podcast.

Regarding how the share of revenue from D2C may have changed in the last year, 65% of respondents said it has somewhat increased, with 27% saying it has had little or no change.

Only 3% have seen a slight decrease in the share of revenue from D2C, but 5% have seen it greatly increase. (No one responded that they have seen that share of revenue greatly decrease.) 

All of this supports the idea that D2C is on an upward trajectory, with more potential now than ever before. 

It also reaffirms that a successful D2C web store strategy can take a little time to take off — but once it does, publishers can see great increases in revenue share from D2C. 

And when that revenue share is moving through channels with lower costs of operation, publishers get to keep more and more of it. 

How They Manage Web Shops and Payments

Because there are a few “moving parts” to the D2C revenue machine, we asked respondents a few questions about the operations behind their web stores. 

When asked which department is primarily responsible for managing their D2C web store, the IT and monetization departments were each selected for 28%. Marketing was next often selected at 22%, and business development manages web stores 18% of the time. 

When asked if web development was handled by an internal dev team, freelancers/contractors, or an external agency, survey participants were able to select all that apply. 

Results showed that 82% have an internal development team, 38% use freelancers and/or contractors, and another 38% use an external agency to handle web development.

Between which department oversees it and who handles development, it’s clear there’s no singular solution for how to manage D2C. What makes sense for your studio may be different from the next. Consider the options here, and choose the framework that best suits your business.

For payment processing, we asked respondents to check all that apply from a randomized list of common payments options. 

The majority of games industry leaders are using a games market specialist payment provider such as FastSpring to process payments for their D2C web store. 

Also notable is that 90% of those surveyed are using two or more monetization methods, suggesting that most industry leaders are diversifying their monetization channels to capitalize on multiple revenue streams. 

They’ve Overcome Worthwhile Challenges

Finally, we also asked this group of survey participants to select the top three challenges they had to overcome when they implemented a D2C web store. Results here were a little more evenly distributed, with no clear top answer. 

The answers selected a little more commonly than others include payment processing and fraud prevention (57%), the technical complexity of integration (55%), legal and regulatory compliance (53%), and difficulty in driving traffic to the store (48%).

Selected a little less commonly were the need to handle customer support and fulfillment (37%) and managing pricing (35%). 

All of these are valid challenges that should be considered before implementing a D2C payment platform. 

But at the same time, they shouldn’t be viewed as insurmountable blockers, because the revenue growth from D2C is substantial, and the challenges can be overcome. 

Not only that, but a merchant of record such as FastSpring can easily and affordably handle most of these challenges for you (more on that below), and we take pride in doing so. 

FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Choose A Partner You Can Trust With Your Players™, and spend less time managing your payments and compliance, and more time making great games! To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

Part 3: What the Not-Yet-Doing-D2C Crowd Is Considering

For those who haven’t yet implemented D2C, there’s a lot to consider regarding whether, how, and when they might do so. Here’s what real industry leaders are thinking about when weighing their options.

They Have Concerns — and Maybe Some Misconceptions — About Implementing D2C

Technical complexity is the top reason (67%) that gaming industry execs give for not yet implementing a D2C web store for their game(s). 

We asked them to select their top three reasons, and while two-thirds selected technical complexity, the rest of the options were mixed, with 49% not believing it would drive significant revenue, 42% not wanting to damage their relationship with platform holders such as Apple or Google, 40% having legal or regulatory uncertainty, 40% thinking it would be too expensive to implement, and 38% being unsure of how to adopt a D2C monetization method. 

It’s interesting that the second most selected reason for not implementing D2C — selected by about half of this segment of respondents — is not believing that it will drive significant revenue. Considering that we’ve learned from industry leaders who are already doing D2C that anywhere from 5%-49% of their overall revenue is being driven by D2C — and that 70% of that group also says the share of their revenue from D2C is increasing — it seems this belief is a misconception. 

96% Do Plan to Implement D2C

We already mentioned this above in Part 1, but of those who aren’t yet doing D2C, 96% of them are planning to at some point. More specifically, 60% of them are planning to implement something within the next 12 months. 

To reiterate, if we assume that those already doing D2C will still be doing it in 12 months, and we assume that those planning to start within 12 months follow through with their plans, that means that at least 83% of all respondents will have D2C implemented and in use within 12 months. 

96% Are Motivated by Recent Rulings

Much like those who have already implemented a D2C monetization method, court rulings are also affecting the decisions of those who haven’t yet implemented it.

Almost all respondents said that yes, court rulings are making them more likely to adopt D2C, with 56% selecting “Yes, slightly,” and 40% selecting “Yes significantly.”

Recent court rulings are clearly influencing the rapid adoption of D2C methods. We expect these rulings to continue to evolve and drive even greater adoption of D2C monetization in the near future.

Visit our Industry News archive for more news and info about developing mobile steering regulations and rulings around the world.

How FastSpring Can Help You Implement D2C

Many indie and AAA publishers have already chosen FastSpring as their merchant of record and partner for global D2C payments. We bring more than 20 years of payments experience, flexible tools, and web shop features that ensure you’re able to monetize effectively without a pause in the player’s experience.

“As the landscape for video game ecommerce continues to evolve, it was clear that FastSpring was positioned to help maximize our pace and ambitions. On top of great service and a stellar team to work with, we truly love the simplicity the white label experience provides. It’s clear to players that they can trust our web shop checkout experience without additional hurdles or friction.”

– Stefan Ramirez, COO, Starform

Here’s how FastSpring can help you easily offer direct-to-consumer payment options to your players.

Steer From In App to Web and Back in Seconds With Steer Safe™

For mobile publishers in the U.S. (and wherever else in-app steering is allowed), we offer the ability to steer players from in-game experiences to a secure, localized web checkout and back to the game — all in a matter of seconds.

With our backend-agnostic Steer Safe™ buttons-and-links approach, you can easily add purchase buttons directly in game and securely pass player, product, and other relevant information from your backend of choice to your FastSpring powered checkout on the web to complete the purchase journey. 

Then once players have made the purchase, they can be sent straight back to the app via deep link in the fastest, least-taps path possible.

Already Have a Web Store? Integration Is Easy

FastSpring is built to support publishers who are already doing D2C via web stores or publishers who are getting started from the ground up. 

Whether you’re looking to replace your existing payments solution or want an additional payments partner to help if an issue arises with your existing partner(s), FastSpring’s here for you.

Integration with FastSpring can be as simple as a few lines of JavaScript code — or it can be as flexible as tailor-made webhooks firing on checkout completion, APIs to inform changes to player accounts, and much more.

The FastSpring solution is built from the ground up with modularity in mind. Instead of bringing in a prescriptive approach, FastSpring partners with you to ensure that you maintain control over the player purchase journey and your web store experience — all while still maintaining global compliance.

Get a Professionally Designed Web Store Customized for Your Games

Sometimes, you just don’t have the developers to stand up your own bespoke web store. 

With FastSpring, that’s no problem. 

In partnership with Nexus, get a professionally designed, optimized, and hosted web store built for you  — without setup or professional service fees.

You’ll also avoid DIY web store wizards that make you do all the work. Instead, get your own custom web store that’s fully integrated with FastSpring with no integration work required from your team. 

We allow your players to pay with their payment method, language, and currency of choice, and we include our advanced fraud prevention tailor-made for gaming customers. Plus, when you’re ready to take the reins, transitioning to your bespoke web store is simple.

Partner With FastSpring

For over two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. 

Partnering with FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. 

Choose A Partner You Can Trust With Your Players™. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games!

To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

Or, if you’re ready to see more now, schedule some time with our Solution Engineers or sign up to check out our platform for yourself.

Learn more about our partner on this project, Omdia, at https://omdia.tech.informa.com/.

The post Massive Gaming D2C Survey From FastSpring and Omdia appeared first on FastSpring.

One key takeaway: steering is no longer a theoretical concept — it’s already driving measurable revenue shifts. Publishers can now guide players from in-game offers to web stores, where they receive better value while studios keep more revenue. Even simple banners pointing to a web shop have been enough to move significant player spend off-platform.

Chip also previewed SteerSafe by FastSpring, a new solution designed to make this process seamless. Players can tap on an in-game item, complete checkout in seconds on the web, and return directly to the game — all while publishers benefit from secure, compliant transactions.

The momentum behind direct-to-consumer is clear. A recent FastSpring survey of over 100 senior gaming executives found that 57% already operate a web store, and of those who don’t, 60% plan to launch one within the next year

To read more key highlights from Chip’s interview or find more episodes, visit 2.5 Gamer’s channel.

Listen to or Watch the Full Episode

Below, check out Chip’s episode of the Player Driven podcast via YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

About Chip Thurston

Chip Thurston is the Head of Gaming at FastSpring. He leverages over a decade of gaming industry experience to help FastSpring’s game publishers define a best-in-class strategy to monetize and market their games direct to consumer.

About FastSpring

FastSpring is how gaming publishers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games! To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg.

The post Steering, Web Stores, and the Future of Game Payments, on the 2.5 Gamers Podcast appeared first on FastSpring.

FastSpring now makes it simple for publishers and developers to steer players from in-game experiences to a secure, localized web checkout and back to the game — all in a matter of seconds.

With FastSpring’s Steer Safe™ buttons and links approach, you can easily add purchase buttons or links directly in game or in app and securely pass player, product information and more to your FastSpring powered checkout on the web before returning the player to the game — all while delivering the fastest, least-taps path possible.

To learn more about how FastSpring combines its payments, monetization, and global compliance tools with Steer Safe™ to help publishers scale direct-to-consumer payments for their games visit fastspring.gg.

Key Benefits of FastSpring’s Steer Safe™ Buttons and Links Approach

• Shortest path possible:
  • Link directly to your store or link directly to a web hosted checkout for the least taps path possible.
• Drop-in secure links or buttons for purchase:
  • Add buy buttons or links that go to a FastSpring checkout, or your web store directly from in game and securely pass encrypted player data, product data, and more.
• Increased conversion with automatic mobile-native payments:
  • With Payment Hierarchy, automatically detect your users’ device and default to Apple Pay on iOS or Google Pay on Android
• Synced backends and trusted player transaction authorization:
  • FastSpring webhooks notify your backend when a purchase is complete, so you can grant entitlements and update player records in real time. These simple principles apply whether you’re using platforms like Unity Gaming Services, Firebase, or your own custom backend.
• Seamless in-game to web flows:
  • Fully customizable checkout experiences ensure that your game’s brand remains consistent from in game to the web. Plus, when a purchase is complete, players return directly to your app via deep links–never losing their place in the flow.

Why Steering With the Steer Safe™ Approach Matters

Steer Safe™ removes friction from the purchase process while giving you complete control of the player relationship. You deliver the experience, and FastSpring handles secure global payments, tax, and compliance.

No matter what backend you use, FastSpring makes direct-to-consumer checkout simple, secure, and player friendly.

How the Steer Safe™ Approach Works

For a step-by-step technical guide on how to enable an integration with FastSpring Steer Safe™ using Unity and Unity Games Services as the examples check out our product documentation here. Or, schedule some time with our dedicated Solution Engineers who can help you understand how FastSpring can integrate with your specific use cases.

Steer Safe™ is a backend agnostic approach and can be used to integrate with your backend of choice. In this post, we’ve done the build using Unity Games Services, but you can use others like Firebase, Playfab, or an in-house custom backend system.

Once integrated, you’ll use a signed checkout URL from your backend that includes the product and user ID via secure payload when a player taps the button or link in game. Your game then opens the URL where FastSpring takes in your player information and securely initializes your game’s checkout or web store. 

When the purchase is complete, FastSpring sends webhooks to your backend letting you know the order has completed so you can grant entitlements, and the player is seamlessly returned to your app via deep link.

Why Use the Steer Safe™ Approach by FastSpring?

The Steer Safe™ approach by FastSpring gives you a simple, secure way to steer players from in game to a web checkout and back again. It keeps sensitive data protected, defaults your players to their most trusted payment methods, and then returns them back to your app seamlessly in seconds. 

The result is a faster path to steering users from in-app, less player drop off during checkout, and more revenue for your business. To learn more about how FastSpring combines its payments, monetization, and compliance tools with Steer Safe™ to help publishers scale direct-to-consumer payments for their games visit fastspring.gg. Or schedule some time with our Solution Engineers.

The post Introducing: FastSpring’s Steer Safe™ Approach for In-Game Steering From Game to Web (D2C) appeared first on FastSpring.