RESEARCH PAPER Customer preferences in mobile game pricing: a service design based case study J. Tuomas Harviainen 1 & Jukka Ojasalo 2 & Somasundaram Nanda Kumar 3 Received: 7 July 2017 /Accepted: 15 January 2018 /Published online: 15 February 2018 # Institute of Applied Informatics at University of Leipzig 2018 Abstract This article examines the service design of freemium game pricing. Freemium games are a type of game that is partially free to play, but its players are able to access various options by playing real money. The article increases knowledge of the usability of service design processes in the pricing of mobile games, as well as the understanding of central aspects of freemium pricing models from the perspective of user experience and customer value. Existing research shows that one major reason for failing freemium pricing models is the orientation for technology development, alongside poor content and too aggressive monetization, rather than customer experience. The article presents a process in which an alternative pricing model was developed for freemium games, through the use of service design workshops. Keywords Case study . Games-as-services . Games design . Monetization . Service design JEL classification 3.050 . 3.120 . 3.290 . 5.050 . 5.110 Introduction In this article, we examine the use of a multi-stage service design process to improve mobile game pricing. We answer the question what kind of monetization would freemium players prefer, could they decide. Games are a massive mar- ket, one that increases its size continuously right now. Reporting agency Newzoo (2016) estimated its value in 2016 at $99.6 billion, with a projected growth of $10 billion more in 2017. About 2.2 billion players exist worldwide, according to the same source. Designers have also taken an interest in the field, looking at the games as not just sources of revenue (e.g., Heimo et al. 2016) or production processes (e.g., Kultima 2015; Kultima and Sandovar 2016), but also as forms of co-design (e.g., Lehtonen and Harviainen 2016). This article combines all three themes, to examine game mon- etization from the perspective of service design. The challenge with game monetization is that in many cases, it is based on providing an inferior service (Heimo et al. 2016). If the game is not sold as a ready or semi- ready product (e.g., off-the shelf games, full downloads from Steam), its revenue generation has to rely on players’ willing- ness to pay for something extra. That Bextra^ is more often than not caused by (from a design perspective) unnecessary complications, such as boring tasks that one may skip by pay- ing real money (Kimpaa et al. 2015). As good service experi- ences rely on a smooth service flow and a lack of undue delay (Cook et al. 2002), this is a problem. It causes many players to stop playing or to switch to other games. Massively multiplay- er online games tend to solve this by offering extra content with money (Lehdonvirta and Castronova 2014; Harviainen and Hamari 2015). Free-to-play games, in turn, tend to rely on techniques such as the careful measurement of metrics and constant optimization to facilitate purchases (Voigt and Hinz 2016). Responsible Editor: Hans-Dieter Zimmermann * J. Tuomas Harviainen jiituomas@gmail.com Jukka Ojasalo jukka.ojasalo@laurea.fi Somasundaram Nanda Kumar esnandakumar@gmail.com 1 Hanken School of Economics, Arkadiankatu 22, 00100 Helsinki, Finland 2 Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Vanha maantie 9, 02650 Espoo, Finland 3 Rovio Entertainment Ltd., Keilaranta 7, 02150 Espoo, Finland Electronic Markets (2018) 28:191–203 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-018-0285-6