Case studies

How Ludia Scaled DTC to 26% Wallet Share for Jurassic World: The Game in Weeks

September 1, 2026•8 min read

About the Partnership

Ludia, the Montreal-based mobile game studio, partnered with Appcharge to launch their first direct-to-consumer (DTC) monetization channel for Jurassic World: The Game - a dinosaur collecting RPG and their flagship, highest revenue-generating title. The deployment used Appcharge Payment Links on iOS.

The Opportunity

Jurassic World : The Game is not a title you experiment on lightly. It's Ludia's most mature, most optimized revenue engine - with a large, loyal player base built over years and a monetization system already performing at scale. For most studios, a title like this would be the last place to introduce something new.

Ludia saw it differently. Precisely because the player base was established and engaged, DTC represented an opportunity to add a meaningful new monetization layer without cannibalizing existing performance.

The objectives were clear: launch DTC on iOS, reach existing high-value players without disrupting their experience, and build a system capable of continuous optimization.

The Solution

Appcharge deployed Payment Links as the entry point, allowing Ludia to go live quickly while retaining full control over the player experience. Rather than waiting for a full web store build, Payment Links let Ludia activate their DTC channel in weeks and begin generating real performance data from day one.

The rollout was cross-platform from the start. iOS players were reached simultaneously, with a mobile-first checkout experience designed to minimize friction at the point of purchase. To accelerate first-time adoption, Ludia introduced a bonus in-game currency incentive on DTC purchases - a targeted value exchange that gave existing players a clear reason to try a new purchase path. The incentive was built to be adjusted dynamically, giving Ludia full control over the offer as the channel matured. What Appcharge delivered:

Payment Links - live across iOS
A/B testing infrastructure - enabling Ludia to test multiple checkout UX variants against real players from launch
Incentive flexibility - tools to adjust bonus offers dynamically based on live performance signals
Mobile-first checkout - optimized for the environments where Jurassic World: The Game players actually play
Full merchant of record stack - sales tax, refunds, disputes, and all compliance handled by Appcharge

The Results

26% DTC wallet share

Within weeks of launch, DTC via Payment Links accounted for 26% of total wallet share on iOS. For a first-ever DTC launch on a flagship title - with an existing, well-functioning app store revenue stream running in parallel - that's a meaningful share of spend captured through a brand new channel. DTC didn't replace existing revenue. It added to it.

Checkout conversion rate: a story of continuous improvement

Conversion rate improved by 2x within a month of launch, thanks to ongoing optimization.

First-time depositors: sustained acquisition, not just a launch spike

FTD volume peaked sharply in the first week of launch before settling into a consistent daily baseline. A secondary spike around April 10 shows the incentive strategy continues to re-activate player interest well beyond the initial launch window.

Repeat purchase behavior: 57% buy more than once

57% of DTC buyers have made more than one purchase since launch while 11% have purchased ten or more times. This is the metric that converts a good launch into a sustainable revenue channel. Players aren't just trying DTC. They're returning to it.

The chart below shows how often DTC buyers returned to purchase. Each bar represents buyers who purchased exactly that number of times - once, twice, three times, and so on. The final bar (10x+) groups everyone who purchased ten or more times, which is why it reads higher than the bars immediately before it. That cohort alone accounts for 11% of all DTC buyers.

Why It Worked

The right title for a bold first move

Launching DTC on a flagship title might seem like a risky play - but Ludia identified it correctly as the highest opportunity one. A large, loyal player base means more potential DTC converts. An already-optimized revenue system means there's room to add a new channel without disruption. The scale of Jurassic World: The Game wasn't a reason to be cautious. It was the reason to go first.

Speed to market, then optimize

Payment Links gave Ludia the ability to launch fast and learn faster. Rather than spending months building toward a perfect setup, they went live, generated real conversion data, and used that signal to improve continuously.

A value exchange that converted

The in-game currency bonus gave high-value players a concrete, immediately understandable reason to try a new purchase path. It wasn't promotional noise - it was a fair exchange for behavior change. And because the incentive was built to be adjusted dynamically, Ludia retained full control as the channel matured.

Repeat behavior confirms channel confidence

The clearest driver of the 57% repeat purchase rate within the first five weeks was a deliberate UX decision: making Payment Links the default payment method after the first purchase, rather than presenting it alongside standard iOS billing. Removing that split decision from the player's path reduced friction at the critical moment and accelerated conversion.

To learn how Appcharge can help your studio build and scale a DTC revenue channel, get in touch.