Jam City's figures certainly seem to back that up. The depth of the content and the quality of the writing has really made for an experience that fans have really, really gotten into.' After the game was first released, as people began to really get into the game and spend time with it, the reviews went from mixed to very, very good. 'When the game was first released there were a lot of questions about free-to-play and the narrative structure, how that would all come together and whether it would deliver on the expectations of Potter fans,' the studio's president Josh Yguado tells. At times, it feels like this could have been a premium title, perhaps in the vein of Telltale's games, but Jam City opted for a free-to-play experience to target the broadest possible audience - and this raised eyebrows in the run-up to launch. But with Jam City's Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, there is another pillar at play: the narrative.įar from the only free-to-play title to take players through an ongoing story, the Harry Potter tie-in is arguably one of the more ambitious, styling itself as a full-blown RPG that stretches across an entire seven-year stint as a Hogwarts student. The majority of free-to-play games are primarily a marriage of compelling game mechanics and monetisation options that give players the ability to enhance their experience.

There is a delicate balance to strike when it comes to monetising mobile users - especially younger players - as too aggressive a tactic will see your retention plummet, and your revenues along with it. Like the goblins of Gringotts, free-to-play developers have to be both clever and calculating when it comes to handling people's money.

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