Coda, a global specialist in digital monetization and distribution, launched Beyond the App Store: A Publisher’s Guide to Direct Linkouts and Out-of-App Monetization, a new white paper showing mobile game publishers how to turn linkouts into a scalable revenue channel.
For years, anti-steering restrictions limited publishers’ ability to direct players from inside their games to external purchasing options. Legal and regulatory changes in the United States and Japan have opened that channel, giving publishers more control over where transactions happen, what value players receive and how recovered margin is reinvested.
The opportunity is significant. Publishers can use the improved economics of out-of-app payments to offer better prices, bonus currency, exclusive items or loyalty rewards, while investing more in content, acquisition and retention.
However, designing the journey from the app to the web requires precision. The right audience, offer and checkout experience determine whether a linkout converts and creates incremental value.
Drawing on Coda’s experience supporting publishers, including companies like Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts, the white paper sets out a practical framework built around these core questions:
- Who should see the linkout?
- When should they see the linkout?
- What should they be offered?
- How should the choice be presented?
“Publishers can now take greater control of the purchase journey and decide how recovered margin is put back to work,” said Zac Liew, chief commercial officer at Coda, in a press release. The real opportunity is not simply moving a payment outside the app. It is using linkouts to create better player value, improve conversion and grow the economics of a game.”
The paper recommends starting with engaged players, repeat buyers and higher-value spenders, while ensuring every linkout offer provides a clear advantage over its in-app equivalent.
It also highlights the infrastructure required behind the link, including payment routing, local payment methods, tax, fraud, compliance and reconciliation.
Coda Links gives publishers the infrastructure to put that strategy into action. It routes players from the app to the most relevant payment experience, while Coda manages the payments, tax, fraud, and compliance required to operate at scale.
Linkouts are already delivering significant results, as, in one Coda Links deployment for a major US publisher, intelligent routing increased webstore revenue by 17% and first-time purchase rates by 78%. In another Coda Links deployment, providing players with direct webstore access increased transactions by 25%.
According to Coda, for publishers, the priority now is to apply the right strategy at scale and capture more value from every player transaction.