Flash gaming community site Kongregate said this week that its revenues are rising 30 percent per month thanks to virtual goods sales, and some of the indie game developers who populate the site are sharing in the wealth.
The privately-held San Francisco-based company did not reveal any dollar figures, but Kongregate said the growth is driven by the Konduit Application Platform, launched in December. The platform allows Kongregate's large pool of indie game developers to integrate the ability to sell virtual goods into their games.
A rep for Kongregate told Gamasutra that virtual goods and microtransactions now make up one-third of the company's overall revenue, with advertising and sponsorships with brands including Xbox, 2K Sports, Axe and Frito Lay bringing in the remaining amount.
The rep added that "several developers are tracking to make high six-figures annually." Kongregate
told Gamasutra in 2007 that developers using microtransactions get 70 percent of revenues after they recoup their advance.
Kongregate also said that it currently has 8.5 million monthly unique players who have access to over 25,000 free-to-play online games on the website. The latest title to use the Konduit Application Platform is the steampunk MMO
Remnants of Skystone from Flipline Studios. While in private closed beta the game had an effective CPM (cost per mille) of $86 on virtual item and subscription revenue, Kongregate said.
Players of
Remants of Skystone can play the game for free, or pay extra for additional moves, features and quests. Flipline co-founder Matt Neff said, "Using the Konduit platform, we have the opportunity to leverage that existing community while building up our own, as well as providing our players with the easy-to-use Kreds platform and its range of payment options."
