The complimentary trial has proven to be exceptionally appealing
Last week, we shared information about numerous Xbox shadow drops alongside the launch of the global survival shooter Deadside, and it appears that the game has become surprisingly trendy since its debut on both Xbox and PlayStation systems.
Taking to social platforms this week, the CEO of Deadside’s publisher, tinyBuild, mentioned that the team was utterly unprepared for the level of demand on consoles, as the game amassed 100,000 players within just seven days of its console release.
Alex Nichiporchik, CEO of tinyBuild: “So how successful was Deadside on Xbox and PlayStation during its inaugural week? We welcomed 100k players in 7 days to the community. We completely underestimated the demand. Thank you for your support, everyone.”
Alex elaborated more in a post on the tinyBuild website, clarifying that the 100k figure includes everyone who either purchased the game or simply initiated the complimentary two-hour trial on Xbox and PlayStation. Although sales figures were not disclosed, it appears that the conversion rate from trial to paid game is approximately 20% and still increasing.
“While we won’t disclose the exact number of sales, the conversion rate from trial to paid game is steadily climbing – nearing 20%.”
“5% of players choose to buy the game before the trial concludes. A considerable segment of the audience directly purchases the game.”
We find this particularly fascinating – it is quite rare to hear insights about how a free trial performs for developers and publishers on Xbox in today’s landscape, and the statistics suggest that despite the relatively low conversion rate, Deadside would not have come close to 100,000 players on consoles if it wasn’t for the trial’s availability in the primary market. In other words, a free trial can work wonders in encouraging individuals to give it a try.