![]() All the data is for web rank in the USA.Īfterwards, I looked at a selection of what I considered to be still important sites, but at a tier below the most popular websites. I started by finding a representative sample of the most popular games websites that are still being updated with new content. Although this information isn’t perfect it gives a strong picture of how well these portals have retained their audience. To see how the situation looks for online game portals I decided to look at their web rankings over the last three years by using Alexa. Although there has been a significant uptake of HTML5, when it comes to games Flash still has a wider distribution potential. Armor Games remains a notable exception in not accepting both, it only supports Unity and Flash games. This is a reversal of the situation from two years ago when some significant portal operations like SpilGames only actively courted HTML5 developers. Due to the smaller size of the market it is harder than ever to get a game in front of a large number of customers.Īt this point it seems that the majority of the large portals support both Flash and HTML5 games. With the reduced number of active portals, fewer distribution networks and the closed nature of the market, spreading a game far and wide looks harder than ever before. When MochiAds closed, the number of developers seemed to drop further. The automatic updates were a unique feature that allowed developers to improve and modify their games without needing to redistribute their files which was and still is impractical. ![]() Games using their system benefited from easily being able to collect metrics, use their advertising system and have updates provided automatically. One of the larger changes in distribution was the closure of MochiAds in 2014. With the declining number of actively updated portals the situation has returned to the past where developers and publishers are more likely to directly contact each other by email to arrange distribution. Flash games benefit from several distribution networks such as Flash Game Distribution and Talk Arcades, there are fewer options for HTML5 games. A notable amount of smaller portals do not appear to accept HTML5 games at all. With HTML5 there seems to have been an uptick in more casual games.įlash games are easier to distribute than HTML5 games. However as the gamer orientated flash games proved so popular the business fragmented into more casual games portals and a larger selection of portals orientated to core gamers. In the early days of this industry, casual flash games and more serious gamer orientated content were picked up by the same portals. In the past distributing Flash games was relatively simple. Developers and publishers alike can release games with adverts inside them to further increase their profit margin. The business model for developers and publishers for HTML5 and Flash games has broadly remained the same for a decade. They can release their game and try to get it distributed themselves, sell a publisher exclusive rights to distribute the game or finally create unique versions for various publishers that don’t link to any external sites for a smaller licensing fee. In this ecosystem, many independent games developers exist (or at least used to exist). Some portals feature exclusive content to retain players. The idea for the majority of portals is to release a game over as many other portals as possible and then entice players back to their websites where hopefully they will return to play the next crop of games that regularly appear. It allows for smaller games to be made before a player moves off and finds another one that they want to try. It’s a business model that requires a large volume of players to make viable. ![]() Examples of this kind of publisher include not only my own website but other games portals like Kongregate, Newgrounds, Armor Games and their casual equivalents for card games, mahjong games, puzzle games and others. This part of the industry excludes most games on Facebook or games that require a subscription to be played online. Specifically I’m talking about publishers that make their money by placing online games on their websites and monetising through adverts in and around the games without inapp purchases. ![]() What Do I Mean by the Online Games Industry?
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