[*NEW*: Check out the WorldsInMotion.biz Job Board, with the biggest and best selection of online world creation jobs, and the WiM Atlas, cataloging worlds.]

« Report: Millions Of Us Launches Virtual Greats Company | Main | CyberSports Chooses Vivox For Soccer MMO Voice Chat »

Lightspeed: $1-2 Monthly ARPU Possible For Successful MMOGs

Venture capital firm Lightspeed has posted Average Revenue Per User (or per avatar in some cases) statistics on popular MMOGs based on previously reported data. The firm found that popular virtual worlds were able to generate an average $1.25 per monthly user per month:

Club Penguin: $1.62/monthly user/month
Habbo Hotel: $1.30/monthly user/month
Runescape: $0.84/monthly user/month

These estimates were created by dividing each virtual world's reported revenue by the amount of active users on the virtual world.

Lightspeed went on to note that Second Life is monetizing at 5x higher than other casual MMOGs, taking into account revenue from land maintenance fees. The firm estimates that the virtual world averages around $9.30 per account per month, in line with "some of the more hardcore free-to-play MMOGs that companies such as Acclaim, Aeria, OutSpark, K2 Networks and IGG are importing."

Post a comment


If you enjoy reading WorldsInMotion.biz, you might also want to check out these CMP Game Group sites:

Gamasutra (the 'art and business of games'.)

Game Career Guide (for student game developers.)

Games On Deck (serving mobile game developers.)

Indie Games (for independent game players/developers.)

Game Set Watch (the Group's alt.game weblog.)

Weekly Archive

WorldsInMotion.biz discusses the business of online worlds - from MMOs to virtual worlds and beyond - and is created by the folks behind:



Copyright © 2007 CMP Technology LLC