Study Says F2P Whales Don't Splurge On Big Packages, Tend To Make Many Smaller Purchases

Gaming research firm DeltaDNA has released a new study that provides an important insight into the spending habits of free-to-play gaming's biggest spenders. As summarized by GamesIndustry.biz, the study indicates that while "whales" do provide much of a F2P game's income, it usually comes from multiple, smaller, purchases than from a small number of purchases of expensive items or packages.

According to the study, which surveyed over a million players who had spent at least $100 on mobile games since July 2015, over half -- 54% -- never spent more than $50 at any one time, with the typical purchase being around $20. Even among players who spent more than $1000 in that time period, 20.2% never spent more than $50 at any one time.

The study concludes that trying to sell big and pricy bundles isn't the answer, and that big spenders are more likely to respond to "building better long term engagement and creating rewarding experience for all spenders." Which seems like a "duh" statement, but when developers see the money being thrown around in some "free" games, it makes sense that they'd think they can sell countless big-ticket items to people with deep pockets. Apparently, that's not always the case.

What's the most you've ever spent at one time in a game? We're not counting pre-purchases, early access packages, collector's editions, and the like. Rather, what's the most you've ever spent from actually inside the game? Have you ever exceeded that $50 threshhold? Or are you more content to make numerous, smaller, purchases?