Study: Free Games With In-App Purchases Make Up 40% Of App Store Game Downloads

Nearly 40 percent of game downloads from Apple's App Store are free titles with in-app purchases, according to a mobile industry study. Mobile industry intelligence firm Xyologic noted in its study that there were approximately 100 million downloads of free iPhone games in March, while 80.8 percent of all apps downloaded in the App Store were free, reports technology site VentureBeat. The free-to-play model sees users making in-app purchases with real money, to buy items or features that may enchance their gaming experience. Over 8,000 iPhone apps offer in-app purchases in the App Store in the U.S., and roughly a quarter of these are free to download. The study also found that 4 percent of iPhone games account for 40 percent of all downloads. Looking at the top 150 free games in the App Store, the study noted that 94 of these games, or 63 percent, are games with in-app purchases. It was reported earlier in the month that Apple has begun cracking down on apps that incentivize users to install other apps in exchange for in-game currency. A number of developers have received rejection notices when attempting to submit updates to apps with such offer walls.