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Selling five games for the price of one and somehow making it work.
Game bundles package multiple titles together at a steep discount, typically 80 to 95 percent off the combined retail price. The economics work because bundles reach audiences who would never have purchased the individual games at full price. For publishers, it is incremental revenue from older catalog titles. For indie developers, it is exposure and wishlist-building for future projects. The model was pioneered by Humble Bundle, which added a charity component, and has since become a standard monetization strategy for back-catalog titles. The downside is that bundles can devalue games and train consumers to never pay full price.
Example
Humble Bundle's pay-what-you-want model generated over $200 million for developers and charity. Fanatical and other bundle sites regularly offer 10-game bundles for under $5. The danger was illustrated when some developers reported that bundle inclusion cratered their regular sales because players learned to wait for the inevitable bundle.
Why it matters
Bundles are a double-edged sword for the industry. They put games in more hands and can revive interest in older titles, but they also contribute to the devaluation of games as products. Understanding bundle economics helps explain why players have drawers full of unplayed games and why developers agonize over whether to participate.
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