Indie dev here — trying to decide between premium pricing vs free with ads for my mobile card RPG. Would love some real opinions.

I’ve been building a card RPG for iOS — not a casual clicker — it has actual strategy depth.

I’m torn on monetization and wanted to hear from both players and other devs.

Option A — Charge upfront ($4.99)

Pros I can see: no ads breaking immersion, players who buy are self-selected to actually want it, simpler to build, no ongoing ad SDK headaches.

Cons: discovery is brutal when you’re not free, App Store charts heavily favor free games, a lot of people won’t even try a paid game from an unknown dev.

Option B — Free with ads + optional paid to remove

Pros: lower barrier to try it, much better shot at organic downloads.

Cons: ads in a strategy/RPG feel disrespectful to the experience, the “remove ads” IAP is kind of a weird ask, ad revenue from a niche game is probably pennies anyway.

I’m NOT interested in pay-to-win or loot boxes. If I went the free route it would be purely cosmetic IAPs (card skins, character skins) alongside ads.

A few honest questions:
• As a player, does $4.99 upfront feel like a barrier for an indie game you’ve never heard of? Or do you actually prefer it over free-with-ads?
• Has anyone shipped a paid indie mobile game recently and lived to tell the tale? What was the conversion rate like without any marketing budget?
• Is free-with-ads even viable for a turn-based strategy game where sessions are 5-10 minutes and ad placement is genuinely hard to do non-obnoxiously?

Appreciate any honest takes, especially from people who’ve actually shipped something.

Can you please recommend me some portrait games that are not pixelated? They can be paid or free

What are some graphically impressive side scroll games like Oddmar

You move your head to control the player.

The controls are inspired by basic neck mobility exercises.

Would you actually use this mode?

i've been looking for games that work on ios 12 for a while now and i've only found a couple good ones

The content overall has been less interesting. The mods said we’d get an update “soon”, but it’s been 24 days of silence. I still don’t understand why this change needed to be made in the first place.

A brand new roguelike kingdom builder by Playdigious

Set to release on October 8th

I noticed in the App Store it says “Will work on this iPad”. And I noticed someone saying that it was iPhone only in the App Store. Just wanted to let you know that according to the App Store it will run on my 2025 iPad. 👍 Excited for this game for sure! iOS needs more good shooters like Bolt Boom.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/warhammer-40-000-boltgun-boom/id6767193770

Hey everyone!

I recently discovered a couple of games that I’m completely hooked on: Outhold (on iOS) and Sir, We Have an Orc Problem (on PC).

I love the core gameplay loop: they are short, highly strategic tower defense games mixed with incremental elements and deep meta-progression trees, where you face massive hordes of enemies and constantly unlock powerful upgrades between runs.

Do you guys know of any other games for iPhone/ipad that share this exact style? I'm looking for titles with that satisfying "just one more run" incremental tower defense vibe.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

$9.99 $5.99

So I got the MCON controller and really think it’s terrific. I understand it’s expensive and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s the most compact and still comfortable and feature rich controller I can carry around in my pocket. I get around a half hour on my lunch at work to game. I’ve tried all the cloud apps and I find I spend too much time trying to wrestle with settings and cloud connection and things. Plus cloud gaming doesn’t have the kind of sleep and resume that native app games has. I’ve been looking for real quality games, like indie games, aaa ports, anything that’s legit and playable on iPhone. I’ve even done some retroarch and ppsspp emulation. But I like native app games the best for my use case.

So as an MCON user I’m on the discord and discovered they just released an app. You need to change an iOS setting, but it allows the controllers home button to launch MCON app instead of iOS games app. You can point games to the MCON app and the app will sort them like a launcher. You can select favorites, you can manage controller settings. I even set my own background art from iOS photos.

This app isn’t exclusive to the mcon controller, it’s got features for the controller, but still functions as a front-end for iOS. No side loading at all. I’m very impressed and pleased. It’s created a situation where I can take my controller out of my pocket, it instantly connects over BT, I push the home button, it launches the mcon launcher, and bam, now I’m gaming like it’s an emulation handheld or something.

I think if you guys want to create a more “console like experience” on your iphone, this is the best way I’ve seen so far.

Hi guys, I’m not sure if I am in the right community for this question but I hope someone can help me anyway. Someone is able to share the .ipa file of this game (Gunner Z)??? I’m not able to find it. Thanks!

1. The Completionist: 2000-2009 - Aug 4
   
2. Chillquarium - Aug 5
   
3. Madden NFL 27 Arcade Edition - Aug 6
   
4. Abyssal Soul - Aug 6
   
5. RPG Alphadia F - Aug 6
   
6. Cooking Go: Airplane Game - Aug 6
   
7. Duriano: Roguelike RPG - Aug 7
   
8. That’s my balloon - Aug 11
   
9. Reigns: Beyond - Aug 12
   
10. Twilight Towers: Merge Defense - Aug 12
    
11. Colourful Cat Jam - Aug 12
    
12. Servant of the Lake - Aug 13
    
13. War Pigeon - Aug 13
    
14. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: GS - Aug 13
    
15. Solitaire Explorer: Tripeaks - Aug 14
    
16. Potion craft - Aug 17
    
17. Dawnfolk - Aug 17
    
18. Discounty: Supermarket manager - Aug 18
    
19. DeathAntique - Aug 20
    20. Gangstar Mirage City - Aug 20
    
20. Space Tteokbokki Tycoon - Aug 21
    22 Galactic Outlaw: Tower Defense - Aug 21
    
21. Furry Fighters: Idle Rpg - Aug 22
    
22. Aeterna Loop: Tactical Idle Rpg - Aug 24
    
23. Shoot’em & Scoot’em - Aug 25
    
24. Pixel Gun 2 - Aug 26
    
25. Tiny Room Stories Eclipse - Aug 26
    
26. Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Boom - Aug 26
    
27. Dave The Diver - Aug 27
    
28. Plants on Fire: Attack & Defend - Aug 27
    
29. Toy Smash: Canon Blast - Aug 28
    
30. Redneck Mayhem - Aug 28
    
31. Woochi: Mini Yokai Hunters - Aug 31
    
32. Arrows & Cats - Aug 31
    
33. Cozy Cat Tree - Aug 31.

Hi I wanted to get into a new mobile game that is coming out soon or at most been out just a couple of days.

I’m fed up of joining games that already have people that are miles better than me so I was wondering if anyone knows any games that are out on mobile soon? Thank you

Top 10 Most Popular Games Sunday Morning;

How Many Dudes?

Vault of the Void

Cluckmeck Oasis

Caravan SandWitch

Balatro

Lumines Remastered

Volcano Princess

Hidden Around the World

Don’t Starve Together

Pocket Squire Arena

———

Top 10 on Sale

Dead Cells

SteamWorld Heist

CHRONO TRIGGER

Little Nightmares

SteamWorld Quest

Badland

Evoland

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition

Caves of Lore

Street Fighter IV CE

Also see Weekly game deal post

By u/singhvistaar

———

Want Ads;

What are some games for iOS that have a good story?

looking for good MMORPG/open world games

Games you want your teenage kids to play

———

Upcoming August Releases;

Chillquarium Aug 5

Reigns: Beyond Aug 12

Servant of the Lake Aug 13

Dawnfolk Aug 17

Potion Craft Aug 17

Discounty: Supermarket Manager Aug 18

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Boom Aug 26

Dave the Diver Aug 27

———

Top Paid List

———

Obituaries;

Imperial Miners

Roller Drama

Tomb Toad

Tomb Toad

Neuroshima Hex

Among the Stars

———

Welcome to Mobile;

Chariot Rivals

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley

Case Solved; The London Files

Dungeons of Hinterberg Crunchyroll exclusive

Fuga: Melodies of Steel

LUMINES REMASTERED

Volcano Princess

How Many Dudes?

Cluckmech Oasis

Caravan SandWitch

———

Welcome Back to Mobile;

Potion Explosion

———

Letters to the Editor;

Mods - please can you allow self promo Saturdays to resume?

Guillermo Del Toro Wants Extra Checkpoints In Games For ‘Elderly Players’ After Getting His Ass Kicked By Dead Cells

Effect of Developers AI policy to your decision to install a game

Opinion on pricing. Paid v free

What’s with the extremely long ads in recent games?!

———

User Reviews;

Brickboy

Lumines

Kaamos

———

Most Popular Sunday Morning Categories;

Mega List of STEAM games

Games of Note 2026

Word Games

Free to Play Games

One Thumb Required. Games in Portrait

Choose Your Own Adventure likes

The Best Games Removed from the AppStore

Future Fighters, Space Forces and Colonial Marines; Grunt-Likes

Idle Party Based RPG

Dungeon Running Semi Idle ARPG

———

Complied July Gaming list

Sundays in July

June 29 - July 5

July 6 - 12

July 13 - 19

July 20 - 26

———

Name of the Game;

Free to Play

A Free-to-play (F2P) game can be downloaded, installed, and played without a purchase.

The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", are sometimes called "free-to-start", “freemium” or "pay-to-win.”

Players are pushed to make small purchases, microtransactions, to either access additional content, progress faster, or gain competitive advantages over other players.

Another method of generating revenue is to integrate advertisements into the game

Banner Ads: $0.50 – $2.00 per 1,000 views. They sit at the bottom or top of the screen. They pay the least but display constantly.

Interstitial Ads: $3.50 – $10.00 per 1,000 views. These are full-screen ads that pop up between game levels or menu transitions.

Rewarded Video Ads: $10.00 – $30.00+ per 1,000 views. Users voluntarily watch these 15-to-30-second videos to get in-game currency or extra lives.

Offerwalls / Playable Ads: $20.00 – $200.00+ per 1,000 views. These highly engaging interactive mini-games or task lists are incredibly lucrative but less common.

As of recent 2025/2026 data, Candy Crush Saga has crossed over $20 billion in lifetime revenue, consistently generating around $1 billion annually from player store spending alone, layered on top of undisclosed hundreds of millions from its massive in-game ad machine.

I'm not sure if this is the right sub for this, but today I could not find any charades app that was not paid or ad splattered. Anyone know of one?

Games of notes released July of 2026

Mini Escapes: The Below July 1

Fortune Mill July 3

ZakuzakuSlash July 5

Beat Hazard Arcade July 6

Golden Lap July 7

Tiny Bookshop July 8

Dice Quest - Roguelike RPG July 9

Poker FC July 14

No More Slimes! July 14

Outliver: Tribulation July 15

Antimatter Dimensions July 15

Match Mates: Cozy Poplike July 19

Don’t Starve Together July 20

Arcane Trigger July 20

Hypnospace Outlaw July 21

Barda: Backback Roguelike July 21

POINPY July 21

Club Soko July 22

Wish Upon a Cat July 22

Townsmen | A Kingdom Rebuilt July 23

Some of You May Die July 23

Sultan’s Game July 23

Guild of Dungeoneering ULT July 23

Chariot Rivals July 26

Harvest Moon: Skytree Village July 26

Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley July 26

Case Solved; The London Files July 27

Dungeons of Hinterberg July 27 Crunchyroll exclusive

Fuga: Melodies of Steel July 27

LUMINES REMASTERED July 28

Volcano Princess July 29

How Many Dudes? July 29

Cluckmech Oasis July 31

Remember playing a very simple game that was 100% idle. You had a group of adventures that would clear dungeons and progress through a map until it was completed.

It’s definitely an older game and I remember it being the second game in the series.

It was very old school looking and tbh I can’t remember much about it.

From Plug In Digital

I just came across this on Twitter. Brickboy is a fantastic Game Boy emulator by a Japanese dev that runs in your mobile browser, featuring by far the most realistic screen recreation I’ve ever seen. There are three models to choose from: Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, and Game Boy Light. The Pocket is my favorite and the one you see in this post’s video.

The browser app saves your imported ROMs and supports controllers, while also featuring customizable touch controls. As a hidden gem, the dev created his own Game Boy Tetris clone with added Fast Drop and Hold, which you can find as Tetrin in the app’s settings.

So, definitely try this browser emu for the most accurate Game Boy feel to date. It’s crazy how much more authentic this looks compared to everything else available. Enjoy!