MMO and its players statistics for 2016

[Eshelmen]

An article makes a bunch of statements about the free to play market.
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SuperData: MMO And MOBA Game Market To Reach Nearly $20 Billion

Some quotes from article incase you don't like clickies.

• The MMO/MOBA gaming market is massive right now, thanks to the immense popularity of games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends, which continuously bring in millions of players daily. According to SuperData, revenues are actually a lot bigger than some people might think.
• SuperData also reports that free-to-play games are heavily popular in this market, with six of the top-ten grossing games utilizing this format. All together, they make up 86 percent of total revenue for MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games.

• “Generally, more than a third of MMO gamers play a title for more than one-and-a-half years before quitting, so maximizing revenue from experienced players is critical,” says Joost van Dreunen, CEO for SuperData. “Keeping the player engaged with new content, daily challenges and the ability to manipulate the in-game environment will decrease their likelihood to abandon the game for another title.”
• While returning players have a big part in the market, so do new players, as 84 percent of those playing within thee first month are likely to make some form of purchase, including boosts and in-game currency. Expansion packs also do fairly well, but mainly with those that check out what the game’s content has to offer first.
• There are those that leave the market, and they tend to do so as groups, with 34 percent noting they leave a title behind mainly because “friends stop playing.” Approximately 81 percent enjoy playing with others they know, and 58 percent follow their friends and family over to a new title they’re introduced to.
• As for MMO games in general, their future appears to rest in the free-to-play sector. “By the end of the year, free-to-play gamers will make up 93 percent of all MMO players,” said van Dreunen. “We have seen many subscription-based MMOs shifting to the free-to-play model, especially those that already had in-game purchasing opportunities.”

I think it is pretty accurate, not sure on the money claims though.

This basically tells me that microtransactions are here to stay. lol