Do I need to pay royalties for a free game for paying subscribers?

Development Audio
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1

Hi,

I’m going to pitch a game idea to a business owner. He has a membership site and people pay a monthly fee to access.

The game is going to be free but it will only be distributed to paying subscribers.

I need to know if he’d have to pay royalties or not because depending on that I may change my pitch.

Thanks.

2

Yes, I believe royalties would be owed in that circumstances. The rationale is that the game can only be accessed by paying a fee. Determining how much of the fee should be allocated to your game sounds like a challenge, but perhaps something that could be worked out with our Finance department.

3

That’s what I thought because on the EULA/FAQ it says:

Are any revenue sources royalty-free?
Yes! The following revenue sources are
royalty-free:

Truly free games and apps (with no associated revenue).

And it can’t be truly free if it’s behind some paywall.

OK now, if the game costs X he would have to pay royalties just from that X, right?

4

OK now, if the game costs X he would have to pay royalties just from that X, right?

Right

5

Great, thanks!