Trouble monetizing a game in Godot

Help
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1

Godot 4.6.3 stable

I’ve been working on a game recently, and I figured if I’m making a game I might as well make some money off of it. My vision currently is some billboards containing static ads (2D), but when I went to look for ways to implement ads I could hardly find anything allowing me to put these ‘intermittent’ or ‘reward’ ads, neither of which I’m particularly interested in but could compromise to. I would be happier if I could have a banner ad somewhere, and optimally I would be able to reposition it away from the ui buttons which I was planning to put in the bottom of the screen.

I’ve searched the forums and google a good bit but couldn’t quite find anything, if someone who knows a bit more about this could explain some options that would be amazing. Thanks!

2

Usually you integrate an ad SDK through a platform plugin, for example AdMob on Android/iOS.
For your billboard idea, though, I would separate two cases:

  1. Standard ad network banner/rewarded ads: use a plugin and follow the network rules.
  2. In-game static billboards: treat them as normal game content.
    The second option is much easier if you sell/choose the ads yourself.
3

Thanks, and sorry for the late reply, but that doesn’t quite solve my issue.

I suppose that is on me for not clarifying, but I’m planning to make a web game (with potential PC downloads), and what I have been having trouble with is finding a plugin that supports any of that at all.

Thanks.

4

Ah, for web/PC that’s a different case.

Most Godot ad plugins are mobile SDK wrappers, mainly Android/iOS.
For web, ads usually live in the HTML page or game portal SDK, then talk to Godot through JavaScriptBridge.
For PC, direct/self-managed in-game billboards are probably the most realistic option.

5

Websites like poki or crazygames have their own SDK for ad implementation, if you decide to distribute your games on their platforms. This might be up your alley.

6

So, what your saying is that there isn’t any way to add ads in such a way? If so, are there any other ways I could monetize it, such as some form of in-game purchases? (without directly selling it). And for the web thing you were talking about, do you know of any tutorials or anything similar that can explain how to do that? (For reference I plan to host my game on github or itch).

7

Not impossible, just not usually a simple Godot ad plugin for web/PC. For web, ads usually live in the html. Search for Godot 4 JavaScriptBridge web export and Godot custom HTML shell.
For itch/GitHub, donations, pay-what-you-want, supporter builds, Patreon/Ko-fi links are much easier than real IAP.
If you want proper web ads, portals like Poki or CrazyGames are the cleaner route because they provide their own SDK/ad flow. So my practical advice would be: if you host on itch/GitHub, start with page level monetization or supporter/donation options. If you want real web ads, publishing through portals like Poki or CrazyGames etc.

8

Thanks, this really helped. I think I’m going to just end up using a patreon donation page.

For a quick TL;DR for people who are viewing this post with a similar problem:

For mobile you use an Admob plugin (mob standing for mobile)

For web, you can:

Use JavaScriptBridge to implement the ads using javascript code

Publish the game on a website such as Poki or crazygames and use their ad SDK.

For PC I’m still uncertain, though I’d imagine it’s even more complicated then the web options.