Monument Valley producer Dan Gray told Re/Code that a mere five percent of installs on Android devices were paid for and only 40 percent were paid for on iOS devices. The breathtakingly beautiful puzzle game by Ustwo Games has been lauded by critics and fans alike for its simplicity and design where every frame is like a Japanese painting.
However, not all of the unpaid installs were pirated, it also includes people who own both a smartphone and tablet and installed on both legitimately. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing. As Gray explains, “”The best way I like to think about it is, the majority of those users probably wouldn’t have bought the game anyway,” Gray said. “So it’s not like we’re losing revenue. And, of course, I’m sure some of those users have recommended the game to friends who maybe aren’t as tech-savvy as they are. It’s essentially free marketing. When I say we’re not complaining about that ratio, that kind of ratio was expected before we made the game and it’s not that surprising now that we’ve released the game. You just roll with the punches.”
