Categories

The DeanBeat: Mobile monetization is the ‘biggest Achilles’ heel’ issue in the game industry

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 5 min

gdc big shot

Last week, I moderated a panel on mobile monetization at the Game Developers Conference. There should have been no one in the room since we were competing against other sessions that featured rock star game developer Hideo Kojima (the maker of the Metal Gear Solid games) and a deep dive into Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 console. But our room was packed. That tells you that mobile gaming is hot and that the toughest problem for the vast majority of developers is getting discovered and monetizing free-to-play games.

Unlock premium content and VIP community perks with GB M A X! Join now to enjoy our free and premium perks. 

Join now →

Sign in to your account.

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.