An Open Letter To Web Game Developers
October 11, 2021• min
Flash-based game developers, the end is near, and the time has come to evolve or die. For years, Flash has been the backbone of games on PCs, phones, tablets, and other devices. In the past, those games have been a booming part of the gaming market. But that era is quickly coming to an end.
Adobe will end support for Flash at the end of 2020, and afterward, it will no longer function on any major web browser. Additionally, Facebook Gameroom will end new game submissions at the end of the year and shut down entirely in Summer 2021. These distribution channels are drying up, leaving many games without a home or a chance to build a community.
Thankfully, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and Xsolla is here to help you evolve, thrive, and survive. There are options that can keep your game viable and profitable, and we’re here to assist you every step of the way.
Source: The Business Research Company. National Statistics Offices, UN Comtrade, TBRC Analysis, TBRC Estimates, TBRC Secondary
If you want to distribute your games after Flash has been discontinued, Xsolla offers two solutions to help with this problem. While Flash is on its way out, that doesn’t mean browser games are — in fact, with the web games market poised to rise to a value of $9.3 billion by 2023*, things are only getting better.
UT+’s Launcher — a look at what is possible with the Launcher customization options
In addition to porting your games to PC, you’ll be able to deliver content to your players quickly and safely, have a direct line of communication with your community, have fine control over monetization, and customize the appearance and functions of the launcher. Plus, you won’t have to rely on other services or platforms, meaning no platform fees are needed.
See our in-depth article covering the perks of this solution here.
How it works
To get started, you simply need to sign up or log into your Publisher Account. Once logged in, you can create a project under your publisher account, set up your launcher, customize its UI, generate and build the launcher installation file. Then you just need to upload and send your launcher to your customers.
After the initial set up, you’ll have a launcher capable of multi-game support, several game distribution methods, an in-game store, the ability to sell merchandise, and more.
For more information on integration, setup, and capabilities, check out the official documentation here.
The Web Game Distribution Solution – Feature Flow
This helps you grow your player base and online footprint — and get your games in front of more players all at once. Xsolla offers a simple, one-time integration to get started and handle all of the global payments, taxation, compliance, and payouts, including cross-portal and multilingual support.
How it works
Similar to Launcher, you’ll need an Xsolla Publisher Account, which you will probably already have created when joining the Xsolla Partner Network. After that, Xsolla will distribute your game across the more than 440 web platforms it partners with. If you couple this solution with Xsolla Launchers, players can then download your customized launcher and gain access to the Flash-based games and other titles you have published.
Source: The Business Research Company. National Statistics Offices, UN Comtrade, TBRC Analysis, TBRC Estimates, TBRC Secondary
If you want to distribute your games after Flash has been discontinued, Xsolla offers two solutions to help with this problem. While Flash is on its way out, that doesn’t mean browser games are — in fact, with the web games market poised to rise to a value of $9.3 billion by 2023*, things are only getting better.
Move your Flash games to Xsolla Launcher
With web browsers soon no longer supporting Flash, you might wonder where to publish your product. The answer: a platform of your own, and Xsolla has just the solution for this — Xsolla Launcher. Working with Xsolla Launcher, you can bring your Flash-based, HTML5, and even mobile games to the world’s PC users. Running your launcher allows you to grow your customer base and community while building a secure home for your players. Plus, your launcher is fully customizable and will act as a standalone home base for your players across multiple regions thanks to its localization into 20 languages, along with the ability to deliver news, updates, and more.
UT+’s Launcher — a look at what is possible with the Launcher customization options
In addition to porting your games to PC, you’ll be able to deliver content to your players quickly and safely, have a direct line of communication with your community, have fine control over monetization, and customize the appearance and functions of the launcher. Plus, you won’t have to rely on other services or platforms, meaning no platform fees are needed.
See our in-depth article covering the perks of this solution here.
How it works
To get started, you simply need to sign up or log into your Publisher Account. Once logged in, you can create a project under your publisher account, set up your launcher, customize its UI, generate and build the launcher installation file. Then you just need to upload and send your launcher to your customers.
After the initial set up, you’ll have a launcher capable of multi-game support, several game distribution methods, an in-game store, the ability to sell merchandise, and more.
For more information on integration, setup, and capabilities, check out the official documentation here.
Connect to players with our Web Games Distribution Solution
You have your Launcher set up and running, and it seems like your Flash-based games are now safe, but how will the audience know where to find them? Here’s where Xsolla’s Web Games Distribution comes in. The Xsolla Web Games Distribution solution is a fast, efficient, and easy way to distribute your game to a global audience across numerous online portals (such as Addicting Games), each containing hundreds of categorized games and reaching more than a billion potential users.
The Web Game Distribution Solution – Feature Flow
This helps you grow your player base and online footprint — and get your games in front of more players all at once. Xsolla offers a simple, one-time integration to get started and handle all of the global payments, taxation, compliance, and payouts, including cross-portal and multilingual support.
How it works
Similar to Launcher, you’ll need an Xsolla Publisher Account, which you will probably already have created when joining the Xsolla Partner Network. After that, Xsolla will distribute your game across the more than 440 web platforms it partners with. If you couple this solution with Xsolla Launchers, players can then download your customized launcher and gain access to the Flash-based games and other titles you have published.
Connect your Portal or Platform and expand your game library
The Web Games Distribution solution is a two-way street as well. Both portals and digital distribution platforms can and should utilize this tool to submit their sites and platforms to be connected with more web game developers and their games. The top ten competitors in the web games market only make up 7.74% of the total, meaning that there are many smaller companies and smaller games that are pulling in big profits. Players want to see plenty of different titles and a variety of choices when they come to your web game portal/platform, and Xsolla can help with this by connecting you with a steady stream of new games. You can find more information about integration, authentication, monetization, and more in the official Web Games Distribution documentation here.Grow your web game audience today!
Whether you are using Flash or not, Xsolla’s solutions can help you keep your web games alive while growing and expanding your audience. With the inevitable end of Flash’s reign and browser-based games’ increasing profitability, you’ll want to come out of this transition ahead, or jump on and be a part of it if you aren’t already there. To grow your audience and find new players, pair Xsolla’s Web Games Distribution solution with Xsolla Launcher to spread your games across multiple distribution channels. With Xsolla Launcher, you will have an evergreen solution for distributing Flash-based and other browser-based games. You will also acquire a means to concentrate all of your products and community into one customizable hub. Roll out announcements, bug fixes, and new games to your customers on a platform that you control. We would be happy to explain both solutions to you in detail and help you navigate the integration process and onboarding experience. Contact am@xsolla.com for help with getting set up or just to find out more about the solutions. Featured articles
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