Game Developers’ Business Models – The Key Activities Exploration

Abstract

Following the increasing popularity of business model canvas, we are exploring one of its components, i.e. key activities in order to identify their types and specific activities undertaken within them. As an empirical background a video game industry is used. The research investigation follows a qualitative approach using semi-structural interviews. The research was carried out on thirteen Polish video game developers. Given that video game developers do differ in terms of adopted monetization models (i.e. premium, freemium, or hybrid) the investigation considers key activities depending on the type of adopted monetization model. The research results reveal fourteen key activities and more than thirty actions within these key activities. The vast majority of them refer to relational aspects, e.g. customers’ retention, customer relationship management, or gaming community man- agement. However, the specific types of both differ regarding the type of the adopted monetization model. For instance, only developers applying premium model show at key activities related to strategic management and human resource management. At the same time, only developers with freemium model identify key activities related to “selective” customer relationships management, while those with hybrid model the most often point out the key activities related to intra-industry networking.