Subway Surfers · B2C · endless runner mobile game
Keep the core game free and unlimited, and never lock content behind payment
Top-5 downloaded game every year since 2012; 1M installs a day
Workedpricingpositioning-niche
What they did
Founders' rule: a truly free-to-play game where players can do the core run as much as they want, are never 'pinched' or blocked from content, and everything is achievable by playing. Monetization is mainly ads, with IAP for those who want to progress faster. Because the game has been live since 2012, they avoid heavier monetization that would alienate older players and test new mechanics only in time-limited events, keeping the core run clean. Guest argues heavy extraction would hurt word of mouth and the content engine.
What happened
Top-5 most downloaded game every year since launch (sometimes #1) without paying for traffic; still about 1M daily installs 13 years in. Guest acknowledges money is left on the table.
- Stage
- scale
“We want to be a truly free-to-play app where you can play the co-run as much as you want. We will never pinch you, we will never guard you from content. Anything is achievable through playing.”
“it's also worth for us to keep the content furnace and the virality going and not jeopardize it by trying to extract too much value”
“we are the evergreen that keeps giving”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Subway Surfers: Move the game to a new city every three weeksGuest credits it with keeping the game fresh for 13 years; no numbers
- Subway Surfers: Have a small in-house team post 5-10 videos a day riding pop culture trendsViral hits of 75M-100M views on salaries only; guest says it lifts app store featuring
- Subway Surfers: Let anyone use the game in their videos, and repost the cool onesCreators, including a K-pop star, make unpaid content; the game became a meme format
- Subway Surfers: Put a few hundred dollars behind posts already going viralTens of thousands of dollars total; helps hits spread to other platforms
- Subway Surfers: Let players watch an ad for a reward instead of payingAds bring in 80-85% of revenue; still the top game in tier-2 and tier-3 countries
- Subway Surfers: Ask players' age, show kids only child-safe ads, and block gambling and gun adsVery few complaints across a billion ad impressions a month
- Subway Surfers: Swap characters with other hit games, with no money changing handsBrings back lapsed players and boosts both games; Crossy Road got the bigger bump
- Slopes: Sell day and season passes next to the subscription for occasional usersHost cites it as working; no numbers