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The time to develop a free-to-play game is driven by factors such as game type, team size, resources available, etc. It's vital to understand the factors and requirements for further development. Developing a game, whether mobile or console takes a lot of time and depends on the game development company's expertise level and experience.
Our guide offers a complete timeline overview and elements that determine "how much time it will take to develop f2p (free to play) game".
Developing an F2P game follows a production structure in which workflows, schedules, and budgets are made, allowing for further modifications and improvements from the initial concept to the final product. Even something small and simple adjustment or requirement, like designing a 3D element, can take a few hours to create. Similarly, a more complex object designing part or high-quality models can take a month or two.
Generally, developing a free-to-play game model requires something more advanced in design, such as high-quality animated characters or realistic game assets. It may require up to 80 or 90 per developer designing experience. So, how long is it required to craft just one game level with all its core components like weapons, props, and set pieces? This level of creation demands more than 3 or 4 dedicated months. This also includes refining the game environment and map through multiple rounds and quality checks.
Whether creating a 2D, 3D, or AAA game, the process is complicated and time consuming. There are some factors that influence the timeframe of game development, such as:
There are no fixed components that influence the development time of free-to-play games. Moreover, developing a game is a highly technical task that requires dedicated resources, a flexible development structure, and experience in similar fields. Additionally, bringing the game idea into a full-fledged product is a process that goes step-by-step, and these steps decide the final development time. Here are some of the vital factors that influence the time frame of a F2P game development:
Complexity of Game
The first major factor is the complexity level of a game concept, which includes game levels, map size, functionality requirements, and many more. The complexity drives more time than any other part of the game development.
Moreover, complexity regards the type of game genre and how base rules interact in meaningful ways. Each game genre is different and defines a unique gameplay story, allowing players to emerge themselves with the game environments.
For example, Fall Guys is a multiplayer and party rounds game where players play several rounds and eliminate other players to win the game. The game is completely free to play, but it has several rounds, its own set of rules for interactions, and strategic gameplay, which generates complexity compared to games with simple gameplay and rules.
So, the game's complexity is a major factor influencing the development time of free-to-play games.
Card games are generally more time-effective game segments that take 3 to 4 months to develop fully. Board games like Ludo, snake & ladders, Carrom, etc., require a similar time frame of approximately 3 to 4 months.
In-Game Features and Functionalities
Another factor is in-game features and functionalities, which are necessary elements of a game. The number of features a game will have, the more time it takes to develop fully.
Gaming features are slightly different from the apps. For example, a feature like virtual economy, where players trade, sell, and purchase in-game currencies, impacts the overall development time.
Graphics and Designing Should Be Taken Into Consideration
The more high-quality animations and graphics, the more time it will take to design. Quality visual development, 3D model designing, game assets creation, etc., all greatly impact development timeframe.
Creating high-quality game assets is essential to make the game completely realistic. On top of that, visual effects also play a significant role in keeping the player engaged for a more extended period. Therefore, the animation and visual design take time to develop from top to bottom, making the game more contentful.
Designing precisely and creating it more relative to players' emotions makes the game one of a kind that will surely succeed in the market. This takes a lot of time; however, it depends on how many teams work in the graphics and design section.
Remember, as mentioned earlier, each game is different and emphasizes different story and mechanics. For example, card games will have different graphics and design parts, and games like "Call of Duty" will have different graphics and design aspects. So, card games will take less development time compared to COD Mobile, as both games are completely different from each other.
Team Size & Experience
It's very simple: the team size and their experience make most of the magic in the development process. Solo and low-level experienced game developers undoubtedly will take longer to develop a game because of their lack of experience.
If your project is board games like Sudoku or Ludo, even then, a solo developer will take a lot of time. However, working with a properly established game development studio with dedicated teams that handle each development stage will take less time to create games.
The team's experience level plays a big role in impacting the development speed. For example, with 1 or 2 years of experience, game developers will have less knowledge of technologies and lack quality. A 4 to 6-year experienced game developer will have a broader understanding of technologies that drive flexibility in development, allowing you to utilize their knowledge and expertise for developing your game how you want to.
So, working with a solo developer will undoubtedly take longer than working with a complete team of highly experienced developers. Your game development success also depends on the team that you will work with. Therefore, experience in the game development studio and knowledge significantly impact development speed. You should use professional help to develop your F2P game to make it more efficient.
Monetization Strategy
Developing F2P games is significantly profitable and provides businesses with broader growth opportunities. However, the core of a f2p game should be clear in your mind. The features, designing part, and especially your monetization strategies, are essential to drive your business to success.
Moreover, the monetization strategies you choose are a big factor in extending your f2p game development time. There are certain aspects, such as how complex models are to implement, whether they require balancing with core gameplay or necessitate features to boost player retention and spending. If the models are simple, then the implementation will take minimal time.
Do you know how free-to-play games make money?
Read this blog ➜ How Do Free To Play (F2P) Games Make Money? (Top Monetization Secrets). This article offers complete overviews how f2p game developers make money by utilizing top-class monetization strategies. By reading this piece, you will understand top f2p monetization tactics that are trending in the market.
However, these strategies include in-app purchases, ads, subscriptions, battle pass systems, and many more. Remember, each model is different and offers a certain ability to generate revenue from your f2p game. Many gaming companies have accommodated effective monetization strategies and achieved great revenue deals quickly.
Take Fortnite as an example, which used an in-game purchase model to generate huge revenue. This game franchise offers various in-game assets like character outfits, skins, emotes, dances, etc. Players can also purchase tiers in the Battle Pass system to unlock additional cosmetic rewards and in-game currency.
Fortnite has historically been a massive revenue generator. Some sources estimate a significant portion comes from in-app purchases. If we go in-depth, according to various sources like Business of Apps and SignHouse, Fortnite’s revenue peaked at US$5.4 billion in 2018 and remained above US$4.4 billion in 2022.
Similarly, just like in-app purchases can allow you to generate a high level of revenue, battle passes, and other monetization strategies offer opportunities for revenue generation.
The bottom line is the type of monetization strategies you implement within your f2p platform impacts the development time. Therefore, it is imperative to balance monetization strategies to get a higher chance of generating revenue for your business in various ways. Of course, this is time-consuming, but at the same time, it provides you with great revenue-generating opportunities.
We will make each tip short and simple so you can utilize it effectively. Here are pro tips for streamlining your F2P game development process:
First thing first ➜ Clearly Define Goals & Target Audience
You need to ask yourself such questions like;
Knowing these aspects from the start helps focus development efforts and drives more effectiveness in process.
Next is ➜ Prioritize Features & Functionality
What else ➜ Monetization Model and Development Efficiency
Of course monetization models are an important element for your F2P game development. Therefore, consider clearing this out as well.
➜ Choose and Design Early
Decide on your F2P monetization model (in-app purchases, ads, subscriptions, etc.) early in development. This will influence core gameplay loop design and features, impacting overall development time. You need to balance your business revenue models for better revenue chances. Below are some steps to do that:
Balance is Key: Strike a balance between offering a compelling free-to-play experience and implementing effective monetization strategies. Make sure that your players don't feel pressured to spend money to enjoy the core gameplay.
Monetization-Specific Testing: Integrate testing specifically for your chosen monetization model. It is important to do it early rather than later as you can identify the problems and solve them effectively which will save your time.
It’s better if you evaluate player engagement with monetization features and ensure they are not disruptive to the gameplay experience.
Make the process fast with ➜ Agile Development Methodology
To reduce the f2p development process time you need to implement an iterative development approach. For that, breakdown development into steps with frequent testing and feedback to ensure you’re on the right track.
The final ➜ Hire a Professional and experienced game development company
Hire an experienced f2p game development company with expertise in developing f2p games using modern tools and technologies. The more experienced the team will work on your project, the more effectively it will be developed. In a nutshell, the less time your f2p game will take to develop fully. Hiring experienced developers is also essential to working with a mind like people who understand each development phase's core and fragility.
All these tips can help you choose the best approach for your f2p game development and help you reduce the time.
The time required to develop a F2P game gradually depends on factors like the complexity of the game, features & functionalities, developer’s expertise, and experience. These factors are what we have talked about earlier in this article. The accurate development time is hard to provide.
However, developing a free-to-play virtual money game can take four months to two years, depending on the scale of the project. For example, if your project is a card game or board game with modern graphics and functionalities, it can take up to three to four months to fully develop.
If the project is similar to PUBG or Call of Duty Mobile, it can take up to one or two years as it contains high-quality graphics, animations, maps, character modelling, etc. Therefore, development must incorporate agile methodology by balancing efficiency with delivering a world-class gaming experience.
F2P games generate engagement and redefine users' gaming experience through in-game currencies and transactions. Games like Fortnite, PUBG, and League of Legends revolutionized the whole virtual coin (free-to-play) gaming industry. All these companies generate more significant revenue annually, highlighting the crucial role of strategic planning and implementation.
This article provides a complete overview of how much time a free-to-play (f2p) game takes to develop, what factors impact the development timeline and what tactics to implement for reducing the timeframe for a budget-friendly approach.
We hope this article will significantly help those looking to develop their own virtual money games or free-to-play games and want to know how much time they need to invest. This article is a great way to understand the proper virtual money game development approach.