Common forms of monetization for free games
One of the biggest issues regarding development on Roblox is ensuring that monetization does not negatively affect the player experience. Developers receive a small portion (<20%) of the revenue their games earn, and as a result look to find more ways to make money. Since the majority of games on the platform are free to play, monetization often takes the form of game passes, VIP servers, and developer products. Free games are also able to take advantage of the relatively new Premium Payouts.
The advantages of paid access
A significantly less common form of monetization is paid access. While free games are easier to enter, often these games put certain perks or gameplay features behind a paywall (which they have every right to do). Depending on how this monetization is implemented, it can quickly lead to a worse player experience. Paid access offers developers the opportunity to ask the player to pay an upfront fee for entry into their game. If desired, this allows developers to reduce or completely eliminate costs for additional content. It can allow for a much more pleasant player experience if done well.
The issue, Roblox’s argument, and a rebuttal
But paid access games aren’t eligible for premium payouts. Officially,
Paid Access games are not eligible for Premium Payouts… to enable a frictionless experience for Premium subscribers.
This statement fails to recognize that free-to-play does not equate to frictionless. Instead, friction is removed upon entry and is instead applied throughout gameplay. Asking the player to purchase a starter pack on their first play session, or constantly reminding players of the special deals being offered every time they join the game. In other words, free games do not remove friction entirely, they simply displace and distribute it throughout gameplay.
As we’ve established, paid access gives developers the opportunity to offer a relatively friction-free gameplay experience at the cost of an upfront fee. I think this is a fine model, and considering that paid access was implemented onto the platform years after Roblox’s launch, it appears they think so too. Enabling premium payouts for paid access games would help offset the low percentage of their game’s revenue that developers receive. Premium Payouts are a decent way to improve game revenue, and it is unfair that a whole subset of games (that Roblox explicitly enabled) are barred from taking advantage of them.