With the growing popularity of free-to-play games on the PC, a new study from game market analyst DFC Intelligence reports that the English language free-to-play industry is expected to grow from $250 million in 2009 to over $2 billion by 2015. The increasing willingness of consumers to buy digital content and improved payment options have been a considerable factor in the surge, says DFC. An earlier report from DFC and Live Gamer put the global number at over $7 billion.
“For many Korean companies the market in North America has not taken off nearly as fast as they expected,” says DFC analyst Insun Yoon.
In free-to-play games, such as Electronic Arts Battlefield Heroes (pictured), users play a game for free. They can use real money to pay for virtual goods as they progress. See Industry Gamers for more. 