This thesis researches reward mechanics of the free-to-play model in mobile games and makes observations of their relationship and intent towards the players. The study maps out the most common mechanics in the model and reasons for their use. It focuses on the player lifecycle: Player acquisition, retention, engagement and monetization. The study is based on eclectic research on previous game studies, focused interview of game industry and research professionals and author’s own experiences while working in the game industry.

The first part of the work is a brief overview of the history of free-to-play-games. After that comes a theoretical section where the work focuses on player lifecycle and takes a closer look at the most common reward mechanics in free-to-play-games. The theories are then reflected and compared to the case study, namely the mobile game Clash Royale. The following themes are focused on: which parts of the theory section are present in the case, how they are implemented, how well they work in the game and how accurately they correlate to the findings on the theoretical reward models.

This work presents a view to the structure of the chosen game model, opening the concept and goals of the reward model and mechanics. It will serve as a good overview to the inner workings of the free-to-play-games and it can be used as a good base for further research.

The thesis can been seen as relevant to the students interested in games and gamification and game industry professionals who are changing track to free-to-play games.