What is Paying Conversion?

In F2P games, paying conversion tracks the moment a player becomes a customer — when someone makes their first in-game purchase.

It’s a key milestone in the player journey — from trying your game to investing in it.

1️⃣ Definition

Metric	Formula
Paying Conversion Rate	(Number of First-Time Payers ÷ Total Active Users) × 100

📍Example: Out of 1,000 active users, 10 make a first purchase → Paying Conversion = 1%

Use Case	What It Enables	Design Insight
Monetization health	Early signal of revenue potential	Are players willing to pay at all?
LTV projection	Sets the base for scaling	LTV = conversion × ARPPU
Shop and FTUE testing	Validates offer placement and clarity	Is your store visible, inviting, and logical?
UA economics	Pairs with CPI to assess return on ad spend (ROAS)	Can new users ever pay back acquisition cost?

📍If players don’t pay, don’t blame them — fix your offer, your timing, or your trust signals.

📍High conversion doesn’t mean high revenue — but it means more players believe in your game enough to pay.

Strategy	Implementation
Starter Packs	First-purchase bundles with deep discount and utility
Soft Paywalls	Optional friction (e.g. timers, limited actions) with paid bypass
Progress-Triggered Offers	First bundle appears after meaningful milestone
Urgency / Scarcity	Limited-time cosmetics or boosts
Reward Multipliers	“Double your loot for $0.99” style offers
Social Framing	“Most popular”, “Best value” tags in store
Emotional Anchor	Let player care before asking to spend

📍Don’t rush. Let the player first trust the game — then show them how spending can feel like progress, not pressure.

Practice	Risk
Fake urgency / deception	Damages trust and long-term revenue
Aggressive gating	Turns away non-payers too early
Unclear value	Lowers conversion and satisfaction
Pay-to-win first offers	Alienates your long-tail economy

📍Your first purchase should feel like a gift — not a trap.

Factor	Influence
FTUE experience	Frustration early = no spend later
Store UX	Visibility and clarity are everything
Offer framing	Players convert when they see value, not just price
Genre norms	Gacha players expect to pay early, idle players may not
Cultural variance	Conversion expectations differ by region and platform

Do players see their first offer at the right moment?

Does your store clearly communicate value and reward?

Are first purchases designed around player progress?

Are you A/B testing first bundles and timing?

Do non-payers still feel respected?

📍Players remember their first purchase. Make sure it feels like the start of something — not the cost of admission.

Term	Paying Conversion
What it tracks	% of players who make their first in-game purchase
Why it matters	Core signal of monetization health and player trust
Improved by	Timing, clarity, emotional connection, low-friction bundles
Paired with	ARPPU, LTV, CPI, ROAS, Retention

📍Paying conversion is not about “getting the money” — it’s about creating the moment when players say yes.