Indie developers are having an especially troubled time in this environment. For every story about a venture-capital-backed superfirm pulling in daily revenues of $2m, there’s another tragic tale of some tiny studio trying to find success in the F2P market and getting crushed. Mikengreg’s Gasketball gave too much away for free and flopped. Earnings from Rubicon’s Combat Monsters have been “tragically disappointing”, according to the studio’s Paul Johnson. When Radiangames launched F2P puzzler Bombcats, “people just never felt the need to pay for stuff”, explains creator Luke Schneider. Punch Quest was “way too generous” at launch, says Rocketcat Games’ Kepa Auwae. Just 0.1 per cent of the game’s players spend money on the game. “We raised the prices of everything by around six times [to make it successful],” Auwae explains. “With this style of game, where people buy progress, you really want to intentionally hobble the balance of your game so it preys on people’s impatience.” Namco Bandai’s recently released iOS version of Tales Of Phantasia demonstrates how F2P cash grabs can destroy a game, though. In this incarnation – available only as a free title – the game’s difficulty has been cranked up and key save points have been removed in a bid to get players to buy resurrection orbs at $2 a pop.