There’s been a lot of discussion these past couple of days, on whether developers both can and should charge their audiences for new content updates — spurred on, this time, by the experiences of the developers of Monument Valley, who were barraged with one-star reviews after releasing a paid DLC pack for the popular mobile title. In response, PC game developer Lars Doucet wrote a blog explaining why he’s chosen not to charge for his studio’s planned, substantial update to Defender’s Quest despite the fact that it perhaps could. Another dev, whose premium mobile game was all but ignored, suggests that developers created their own problem. All of this proves that it’s a decision that involves careful consideration. What is your audience likely to accept? What sort of update is it? What knock-on effects will the decision to go paid or to go free have for your game, and your community? The answers below, sourced from tweets in response to the question “Should you charge for new content, or give it to your audience for free?” help to bring some more shading to a question that, on the face of it, seems black and white. Remember, if you’re interested in participating in these conversations in the future, make sure to follow @Gamasutra on Twitter. The questions usually go out on Fridays in the late morning, Pacific time, alongside Tweets of our regular news, blogs, and original writing.
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2014