In this op-ed, Archie Stonehill, Head of Product at Stash, explores the evolving landscape of platform policies, the impact of regulatory shifts, and the strategies game studios can use to drive players to their own direct-to-consumer (D2C) webshops - boosting revenue while staying compliant.

 

Before 2021, Apple didn’t allow game studios to use any sort of communications to tell players about alternative payment options, in what were called “anti-steering” policies. Then, following a bunch of legal and regulatory changes, including class action lawsuits, Apple v Epic, and the Digital Markets Act in the EU, that all changed: today, you can use out-of-app channels but you still can’t use in-app channels that lead directly to third-party payment options on iOS. Google is similar - it prohibits in-app communication methods but has long allowed studios to distribute sideloaded apps and communicate with players on out-of-app channels. 

“With platform fees cutting deeper into developers margins, studios are searching for innovative ways to boost revenue and profitability. D2C channels like Stash offer a real, tangible solution to offset these costs and improve studio EBITDA. The facts are simple, if you’re not exploring this strategy in 2025, you ARE falling behind.” - John Wright, Gaming Consultant, Ex-VP of Mobile Games @ Kwalee

While in-app “anti-steering” policies continue to be contested in the courts, Apple v Epic and the DMA have already had a major impact in letting developers grow their webshops. In this article, we’re exploring tips, strategies, and real-life examples of how to compliantly use both in-app and out-of-app channels to send players to your webshop. 

Part 1: How to (legally) drive webshop traffic from in-app

Apple’s concessions in the US lawsuits and their compliance with the DMA in Europe both include prohibitively expensive fees for link-outs to third-party payment platforms, like webshops: roughly 17% in Europe and 27% in the USA. Meanwhile, Google’s compliance with the DMA included introducing the external offers program that totaled up to about 27% in fees (initial acquisition fee + ongoing service fee). Both of those arrangements are likely to change as the EU investigates Alphabet and Apple for non-compliance and the courts in the US decide whether and how to enforce the Epic rulings.  

Until those fees are removed or reduced, you need to get creative in how you use your in-app communications to get users to your webshop:

1. Link out to non-payment options

The basic idea is that you can send players directly to the web from your game for non-store related purposes: a loyalty program page, additional content like news, daily rewards, a survey, etc. These non-commerce features are also a great opportunity to improve player engagement outside of gameplay itself and build a D2C channel that’s the best way for users to pay while enhancing their entire experience with your brand. To stay compliant with Google and Apple’s policies:

• Keep several clicks away from the shop (e.g. send users to a landing page that doesn’t allow direct purchases on it). Generally best practice is to make sure players need to make 2-4 clicks to reach a purchase page from in-game 
• Don’t write about any payments, deals, discounts, or other explicit shop terms in your notification

And to boost traffic to your webshop through a link-out from the game, keep these tips in mind:

• Add a sticky button in your game’s menu bar or homescreen that players can click to head to the web
• Send push notifications about non-store content, like a reward code players can redeem on the web
• Make your web UI as familiar and official as possible - whether that’s your rewards page, loyalty program, and/or webshop. You want players to trust where they’re ending up, especially since webshops aren’t a widely known feature yet.

Coin Master from Moon Active is a great example. They added a button for their loyalty club in their in-game menu. By staying at least >2 clicks away from the game (click 1: “Take Me” to loyalty program webpage, click 2: “Let’s Go” to webshop), Coin Master can direct players to their webshop while avoiding the fees or crackdown from the app stores.

2. Collect first-party data

The second way you can use the in-app environment is to establish your out-of-app communication channels, like collecting player emails or asking users to follow you on Facebook or Discord. Getting direct access to first-party player data is a major benefit of webshops - and it lets you market your webshop in a bunch of creative ways that we’re about to get into. 

The best way to do that is to give players an incentive or reason for giving over their contact information. For example, you can offer players a free reward, like Monopoly Go from Scopely does when they prompt players to share their emails. 

Part 2: Drive players to your webshop from out-of-app channels

Out-of-app platforms aren’t subject to the strict rules and guidelines of the app stores - so you can directly link out to your webshop, talk about deals and discounts, and freely talk about your D2C channel.

1. Organic social 

Your game’s social profiles are a free and highly effective channel for marketing your webshop. In action, we’ve seen studios take the following approaches to marketing their web stores using channels like Facebook, Discord, and Instagram:

• Make your webshop part of your social presence: Social media accounts have valuable real estate for advertising your webshop (e.g. images, descriptions) - so use all of it! Just look at the Facebook profile for Hit It Rich! Casino Slots from Zynga - the cover photo highlights the 20% bonus players can get on the webshop compared to the in-game store

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• Notify players about new rewards and web-exclusive deals: The players in your game’s social media community are often highly engaged and loyal. Turn this interest into webshop spend by showing them deals that can improve their gameplay experience. On Facebook, Stash’s customer Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus from Snowprint Studios highlights the webshop’s premium currency bonus

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• Tie in your liveops: The feeling of competition and desire for achievement is often at its highest during liveops events, which encourages players to seek any advantage they can get. Publicize liveops-related webshop offers on your socials and hype up their value. For example, Clash of Clans from Supercell is known for their extremely active liveops schedule. They use their social media to announce these events - and also the webshop deals that accompany them, like free gifts and rewards

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2. Paid advertising 

Use paid UA campaigns to target existing players so you can make them aware of your webshop and drive them to it with compelling deals or offers:

• Get your webshop ranking with Google Search campaigns: You can run branded campaigns through Google Search ads that focus on keywords relating to your webshop and game. There are two ways to approach this: the first is bidding on long-tail keywords related to your game. For example, “ABC Game QR codes”, “ABC Game characters” and “ABC Game skins”. Players searching for these kinds of keywords have high intent and clearly know your game well - so they’re likely to be a target webshop customer. The second strategy is bidding on variations of webshop terms, like “ABC Game webshop” and “ABC Game web store”. The goal here is to get your shop ranking first on Google Search results, which will help drive more traffic and high-quality players to it.
• Use paid advertising for retargeting: Only players already a part of your social media groups and community see your organic announcements. So extend your reach by showcasing webshop offers, deals, etc. in paid retargeting ads, like through Meta, YouTube, Google Display Network, and Reddit. For example, Train Station from Pixel Federation runs Facebook ads about new offers and deals around their seasonal events. In many of these, they also include a reward code or other incentive (e.g. “visit Pixel Shop for better offers”) to get players to click into their web store. 

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3. Creator collabs

Creators can be your biggest asset for tapping into huge audiences and reaching your VIPs. 

• Use creators codes: Tie an incentive, discount, or reward to a unique code that creators can share with their community. Players then head to the web shop to use the code - which makes it a great strategy for driving traffic. For example, Shakes and Fidget from Playa Games has a program for content creators to share codes with their communities - when these codes are applied at checkout, players get to show their support for their favorite creator, and that creator in turn earns a share of revenue

• Offer creator bundles only on your webshop: Give creators the chance to create their own, branded bundles - then offer these as a webshop-exclusive product. Stumble Guys by Scopely does a great job with this - they give official content creators the opportunity to design their own web-exclusive bundles, then publish blog posts about them to hype the offer up even further and link to it from social and other channels. 

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4. Email marketing

After collecting player emails, you can start running email marketing campaigns and weekly newsletters. These are a great way to let players know about your web shop and share new offers, FAQ sections, and updates/news about your store. 

Brawl Stars by Supercell sends their players regular emails that highlight incentives on the webshop, like the 30% automatic progress players can earn when they purchase a Brawl Pass Plus on the Supercell store. And Pokemon Go from Niantic sends out emails that correspond to liveops events, like the webstore deals available for their upcoming GO Tour.

Stay flexible

We’re expecting to see Apple and Google open up their app stores and ecosystems even more - which would mean more opportunities for you to reach players directly, get them over to your webshop, and drive more direct revenue. If you’re looking for more webshop tips now - and to stay in the loop as future changes come down the pipeline, check out the Stash blog.