History of Game Monetization

Chapter 3 gives the reader a brief history lesson in the major business models used in the games industry for the last three decades. The chapter defines some terminology for these business models, and gives examples of exemplary games which were monetized using each model. The chapter also discussed the east to west migration of certain modern business models, which will be the subject of much of the remaining book. The chapter mentions briefly the ascent of Facebook as the dominant current platform for digital free to play games. The chapter concludes with an interview with Richard Garriott, one of the living legends of game design, in which he describes “The Three Eras of Gaming.”