Let's talk about monetization
It is funny that no one has yet made a question about it here. So Let me start this discussion and therefore I have two questions for you:
- What would you pay for? (for example Skins)
- How much would you pay for this content at most?
The reason I started this discussion is that I have been watching a lot of videos about mym and a question that surfaced often was how and what will be monetized.
Now I wouldn't mind paying for skins and accessories but I also know that not everyone is of that opinion which made me want to start a discussion about it. (Be careful to not breach any of the NDA points.)
Some examples of, pay shops that allow you to unlock pay shop items for "free", include League of Legends with loot boxes, Dead by daylight with shards, and some MMOs via marketplaces where pay shop items can be sold.
Sadly all of them have their flaws, dbd locks some skins so they can't be bought with shards, Loot boxes are random, and can be considered gambling, and lastly, the marketplace is dependent on the community and whales.
The best thing probably would be to make skins/dlcs take a long time to unlock, here for we can take the example of DBDs unlocking killers/survivors via shards.
One last thing I am scared about is that pay shop content will not just pertain to skins, but just like dbd does it, also playable characters or in mym case traps and weapons. There is no proof yet of this which makes me a bit less worried.
And yes I know that it probably will be similar to dbds monetization still, but I have hope.
Now to get to my second point how much would I pay for skins/dlcs, well this heavily depends on what kind it is there are things I would pay 10-15 dollars for or others I would only want to spend 5 dollars max on.
But we also need to look at the economical growth of mym, so that it is worth it for bhrv to invest time, people, and money in it.
The maximum for me would be 20 dollars but then I would expect to get the same out of it as I get from buying one new game.
My lowest would be the 5 dollars maybe that would be then a not to integrate designed skin.
Ps: Pls don't smite me. Love you Rémi <3
I've always had this question, also, I am curious if the new contents would rollout at a price like in DBD?
Playable characters, weapons, traps, etc should be a no for monetization. This game is build on competitive integrity.
Maybe they can invent a system to get things faster, if you pay for it, but even this seems not good for such a comp like game.
Totaly behind a paywall would be a no go for such a game like mym.
Skins, paints, etc. may be an option, but even there has to be certain lvl of competitive integrity in mind. For example a paint that looks like a trap should never be behind a paywall.
I'm torn on this. While I usually support the "cosmetics only" mindset for DLC/MTX. I also am not sure if that alone would be a significant enough financial support structure to maintain the game long-term.
On the other hand is traps/equipment/weapons/characters are made as DLC it could possibly fracture the playerbase.
If we went with paid content expansions we would need to ensure Players without content DLC could still play outposts/with other players who had the DLC.
Well, I think that it might be a little more expansive in the beginning as there will be fewer players, but I can see it becoming the same price as DBD prices atm and that they will orientate themselves on the prices of dbd in 2017/2018.
The only thing I would have to say here is that I hope that they generally will never bring out something that is cosmetic but looks like a trap.
Yeah I get where you are coming from, keeping the game running on just skins is not easy, it is possible but I think that then they might have to make cosmetic content a bit more expansive.
Honestly? I'm not entirely opposed to the concept of paying for new traps or raider gear. I get why this might be anathama to some, but I take the view that a game like MYM probably isn't going to be able to sustain the cost of continous development off of cosmetics alone.
Developing any kind of gameplay element, even something seemingly-simple, is surprisingly expensive, if slipping BHVR a couple bucks every now and then is the price I have to pay to ensure post-launch content is a viable possibility, then so be it.
My only real concern would be the risk of a pay-to-win scenario, where certain pieces of paywalled traps/guards/equipment are so many magnitudes ahead of everything else that they can only be reliably defeated with other paywalled content.
IMO Gameplay additions (new traps, gear, weapons etc) should be completely free. This will prevent a pay-to-win situation from occurring.
I'm fine with them adding cosmetic DLCs as long as what you get is decent and the prices are reasonable (i.e not $20 for a single skin). Maybe release skin packs like Deep Rock Galactic does.
But yeah, this is how I'd do monetization for MYM.
I pay for CoC cosmetics, like the scenaries, hero skins, and most importantly, the battle pass, which greatly accelarate the progress, but it still takes years, but it is still fun in each TH level. However, in MYM's case, I don't see the progression tree is that big enough, and you don't want players to take years to unlock all stuff, so the monetization of this game is not so easy imho. Cosmetics like new blocks, decals are your best bet, like you can have theme packs every now and then sold for 9.99, seasonal scenes and even for the HQ (or whatever you call it), or HRV, the possibilies are endless. I sincerely hope the devs can see this comment, lol.
What we could also consider is to make the matchmaking fairer, like it can take a lot longer to unlock or upgrade traps, but you can only get outposts of your level of traps, that way, it's still fun even you haven't geared up.
with how they treated DBD, I'm sure BHVR will find some way to shove monetization in our faces. the only question is, considering this game isn't a heavily genericized streamer-bait psuedosocial third-person experience, how will they do it? an ingame shop? if MYM gets a battle pass I'm liable to delete my account. at best, if it's truly necessary, an ingame skin shop.
if they start locking traps, gear/weapons or etc. behind DLC packages like they do chapters in DBD, I might actually cry. we've got such a unique concept and i'd hate to see it get broken down in favor of premium currencies and dividing the playerbase's experiences based on which DLC blocks they've been duped into buying.
addendum: that's what's most likely going to happen. I both predict and fear it.
i'm so tired of editing a comment bugging out and removing the original text and zapping it out of existence.
@Rookie1978 let's say they were to add skins. How much would you pay for skins in a year? If they were to release free content, how often do you feel that they should be adding new content? Is there another game that you play that you purchase skins from?
It's hard for me to say because I detest microtransactions, battle passes, DLC, etc. and what they've done to the gaming industry in general. Granted, it could be a lot worse with DBD, but even then I think for the quality we're getting they're really pushing it sometimes in what we're supposed to be excited about and want to spend money on. It feels like they're constantly testing the waters with how little effort they can bring to their DLC and 'updates' and still squeeze money out of the playerbase.
I am of the full belief that ingame microtransaction store updates and DLC updates do not actually constitute as content updates; if your update to your game is trying to sell me something else I otherwise won't have access to, then it's not an update, it is JUST downloadable content and should be treated like such.
In terms of what I'm to expect from MYM specifically, based off of how I know BHVR monetizes their games, I expect skins and paintjobs for the suits ingame, or maybe some custom suits that act as glamors on top of other suits; a psuedo-transmog system- but then MYM isn't a super social experience, only being able to even view suits in co-op or watching replay mode (and then you wouldn't be looking at your own suit), so whose to say. Weapon skins maybe? But the aesthetic of this game seems really focused and I feel like it'd be really easy to mess it up.
I see maybe 1 or 2 new suits and weapons being added on release alongside another guard and deco pack, and then future items and base building options being sold as DLC. I don't know if MYM will get continued support in the form of more free items and blocks to mess with outright, it's honestly hard for me to say until we see how they choose to handle their system. But blocks and packages of DLC similar to Dead by Daylight's chapters is almost assuredly what they're going to do- 'content updates' in the form of things you can't actually control or interact with unless you pay for it, that you can still technically engage with in the form of raiding bases by people who paid to get the new traps or guards or whatever and watching replays where raiders use weapons you haven't shelled out cash for. It's going to feel like I'm being japed either way so the only thing I can hope for is that they actually do release regular content updates alongside DLC.
I've paid for 2 DBD battle passes when I was really into the game, I don't necessarily regret them, but I was still disappointed that a majority of the pass seemed to be recolors or low-effort content. I've done one call of duty pass because it's a gaming comfort food and two Fortnite passes because the content per pass you get with Fortnite is arguably one of the most consumer-friendly 'battle passes' on the market in terms of accessibility and the amount of content you get for paying. That being said, if Meet your Maker ever tries to spin a paid battle pass on the consumer base, I might stop playing outright- awful monetization can kill any kind of hope I ever had for a game, and it's why I've found myself quitting Overwatch 2 despite being a massive fan of the first game.
I don't think MYM has that much to worry about given the niche audience will probably stick around despite however they choose to further monetize the game beyond asking price, my main concern is that they'll try selling it for more than it seems worth and lose a lot of the beta audience it's already built up- selling for too high and then blaming the game itself instead of poorly thought out marketing price for it's poor sales performance.