Amazon Underground app offers a new business model.
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Amazon Underground offers new business model for apps and games based on pay per usage

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

The Amazon Underground app for Android launched today with a new business model. The in-app items, which are usually available for purchase, are available for free in the games and apps available in Underground. Amazon will compensate the developers based on pay per usage.

If the new model takes off, it could provide an interesting path to revenues for companies that are struggling with microtransactions in the free-to-play business model, where players can get a game or app for free and then pay for in-app items. Amazon said it is offering $10,000 worth of apps and items for free through Underground.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.