Why Now Is the Right Time to Launch a D2C Webshop for Your Mobile Game

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) webshops are no longer an experiment. They have become an established and growing revenue channel across mobile games. In 2025, top 100 titles grew D2C earnings by an estimated 38%*. Most top mobile social casino games now operate a webshop, 80% of top Strategy games do too, as do 75% of top Action games**.

D2C has moved from experiment to standard operating practice.

But for years, the idea of selling in-game items outside the app store was more theoretical than practical. Platforms held all the cards. If studios wanted players to make an in-app purchase (IAP), they spent through Apple or Google, and 20-30% of every transaction was the cost of doing business.

That model is no longer the only option. Platform changes, maturing tooling, and many studios proving the concept at scale have converged to make now the most compelling moment yet to launch a D2C webshop.

What’s changed with platform policies across markets

The shift began not with the players, but with the platforms. Under legal and regulatory pressure across major markets, Apple and Google have adjusted the rules that barred developers from steering players to their own payment channels***.

As a result, in the United States, European Union, Japan and South Korea, Apple and Google can no longer require developers to sell exclusively through their in-app purchase systems. Studios in these markets can now sell in-game items through a webshop operated outside of the platforms and direct players to it from within the app.

This represents a structural change, and the takeaway for studios operating in these markets is clear. Studios now have a choice about where purchases happen, and consequently what fees they pay and how much control they have over the purchase flow.

The business case for D2C webshops for mobile games

With these platform changes, D2C webshops have unlocked significant revenue for mobile game studios and better value for players through discounts and new items. As a result, they’ve fast become an established revenue channel for many studios.

But fees have not disappeared entirely, and where they apply depends on three things: how the transaction is routed, which platform it’s on, and where the player is located:

• In-game link-outs: when a player taps a link inside the game to reach your webshop, the purchase is attributed to that in-app click, and Apple or Google may apply a commission, up to ~20% depending on platform and region**** in addition to payment processing and merchant of record fees.
• Direct web traffic: when a player reaches your webshop without an in-app link – by typing the URL, using a bookmark, or following a link shared outside the game – that transaction carries no in-app attribution, so no platform commission applies. Your only cost is payment processing (or merchant-of-record fees, where you use one).