Those playing for free may face in-game advertisements, timers, fewer customization options, or gated content. The combined models function mostly in free-to-play (F2P) games, where gamers are encouraged to pay for enhancements, such as additional lives, currency, personalized avatars, an ad-free experience, or unrestricted playing time. Each of these models can be exploited individually, however, in many cases, gaming companies choose to combine at least two of the three models to boost income prospects.
The gaming industry depends on several monetization models to make such mammoth profits: consumers may simply buy games, revenues can be generated via in-game advertising, or gamers spend money on microtransactions (individual purchases, loot boxes, gacha), downloadable content (DLC), or tiered extras such as season or battle passes within the game.
For game developers, the most common gaming business model is pay to download but there are many approaches to making money from games and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.