Ludia partnered with Appcharge to introduce direct-to-consumer payments to Jurassic World: The Game, with the new channel accounting for 26% of iOS wallet share within weeks of launch.
Montreal-based mobile game studio Ludia partnered with Appcharge to launch its first direct-to-consumer (DTC) monetization channel for Jurassic World: The Game, its flagship and highest revenue-generating title.
Rather than launching a full web store, Ludia introduced Appcharge Payment Links on iOS, allowing players to purchase outside the existing in-app payment flow through a mobile-first checkout experience.
The approach gave Ludia an opportunity to test DTC on an already established title with a large and engaged player base while keeping its existing App Store monetization running in parallel.
DTC reached 26% of iOS wallet share within weeks
Within weeks of launch, purchases made through Payment Links accounted for 26% of total wallet share on iOS.
According to the case study, the DTC channel supplemented Ludia’s existing revenue rather than replacing purchases made through the standard platform payment system.
Checkout conversion also doubled within the first month as Ludia continued testing and optimizing the purchase flow.
The implementation included A/B testing infrastructure that allowed different checkout experiences to be tested with players from launch, alongside tools for dynamically adjusting purchase incentives.
57% of DTC customers made repeat purchases
Repeat purchasing became another significant part of the channel’s early performance.
According to Appcharge, 57% of players who purchased through DTC made more than one purchase, while 11% made at least ten purchases.
First-time depositor activity was highest during the initial launch period before stabilizing into a consistent daily baseline. The case study also recorded a later increase in activity following changes to the incentive strategy, suggesting offers could be used to bring players back to the DTC purchase flow.
Ludia encouraged initial adoption by offering bonus in-game currency for purchases made through the new channel. The incentive could be adjusted according to performance rather than remaining fixed throughout the campaign.
Reducing friction after the first purchase
One of the changes highlighted in the case study concerned players who had already completed a DTC transaction.
After their first purchase, Payment Links became the default payment method instead of being presented alongside standard iOS billing.
According to Appcharge, removing the additional payment decision helped reduce friction in the purchase journey and contributed to repeat purchasing during the first five weeks.
The company also provided Ludia with its merchant-of-record infrastructure, handling areas including sales tax, refunds, disputes and payment compliance.
For Ludia, the rollout provided a way to introduce DTC monetization without first committing to a longer web store development process. The studio was instead able to launch the channel, collect purchasing and conversion data, and progressively adjust the checkout experience and incentives based on player behavior.
