Quick Take
- Top studios now generate up to 50% of revenue through direct-to-consumer web shops
- Apple’s anti-steering rules removed in the US, unlocking direct app-to-web conversion
- Web shops provide higher margins, more data, and more leverage for user acquisition
Mobile game developers now have a direct path to collect payments without routing every transaction through Apple or Google. Platform fees still sit at 30 percent of gross spend. Developers who receive $10 million have actually left $4.3 million with the platform. With web shops, that cut drops to five to ten percent.
Shifting even a quarter of spend off-platform unlocks enough margin to increase paid acquisition budgets by 10 to 15 percent. That extra headroom allows studios to outbid competitors on CPIs and hit the same ROAS targets. Some of the top games using this model now generate over 50 percent of their total revenue through their web shops.
Apple’s anti-steering restrictions are no longer in effect in the United States. Developers can now show links inside their apps that take users to external payment pages. They can notify users about better deals and offer web-exclusive perks without violating policy. On Android, the legal process is still ongoing, and in Europe, regulators are implementing similar policies through the Digital Markets Act.
Scopely, Supercell, and other large publishers have already built full-featured shops. They sync with live in-game catalogs, offer personalized bundles, and run loyalty programs. Users can earn rewards, track purchase history, and unlock higher-tier offers based on spend.
A casino game that added in-app linking saw over half of weekly active users visit the web shop within a week. Twenty percent of revenue shifted almost immediately. Most of that traffic came from users already inclined to spend. The only missing piece was a link.
Implementing a shop requires three main components. First is account linking. Most mobile games use device-based IDs. A web shop requires a system that connects users across platforms. Many use QR codes or deep links to allow login through the mobile app. Second is payment processing and item delivery. Once a purchase is made, the items must be granted in-game. Third is catalog syncing. The best-performing shops pull live offers from the game’s backend and display them in real time. This avoids the need to maintain two separate product sets.
Many early shops only offer generic resource packs. Those convert poorly. When players see the same offers they would normally find in the app, conversion increases. Repeat purchases also rise when shops include daily check-ins, rotating offers, and exclusive bundles.
Operational ownership usually sits with a product manager. Most shops can be deployed with minimal engineering time after the initial API setup. Once integrated, catalog updates and offer configuration are automated. Visual assets, content updates, and event tie-ins are handled through external CMS or vendor support.
Data control is a secondary benefit. Studios that process their own payments gain access to email, behavioral data, and transaction history. That enables better segmentation, attribution, and re-engagement. Loyalty systems can be tied to spend history and cross-game activity.
Checkout flows are also evolving. Stash and other vendors now offer embedded checkout layers that do not require users to leave their game session. This is especially useful for casual genres with impulse-driven purchases.
Top-performing shops operate with a unified catalog, use engagement loops, and support authentication with no password friction. Benchmarks are starting to normalize. Under 10 percent revenue share is underperforming. Twenty to thirty percent is typical for functioning shops. Forty to fifty percent is now achievable with full integration and incentive structures.
Studios expanding into direct channels are also building desktop launchers, standalone clients, and sideloaded app versions. Cross-platform accounts and web shops sit at the center of this infrastructure. Web shops are no longer a side project. They are becoming part of the core game loop.
