How the KaoGames creator fund works
Every month a pool of money is shared between the people who publish games here, by plays and returning players. Here's the formula, with an example.
Every month, KaoGames puts money into a pool and shares it between everyone who publishes games here. This post explains how the split works, and why it’s built the way it is.
The formula
Each live game gets a score for the month:
Score = plays + 5 × returning players
- Plays are every counted play of your game that month. A person reloading a game over and over in the same hour only counts once.
- Returning players are signed-in players who played your game on two or more different days that month.
Your share of the pool is your score divided by the score of every game in the fund. If your games earned 10% of all the points, you get 10% of the pool.
Why returning players count five times
Plays tell us a game gets tapped. Players coming back tell us it’s actually good. A game people return to is worth more to everyone, so it’s worth more in the fund. Weighting returning players this heavily means a smaller game that people love can out-earn a bigger one that people try once and leave.
An example
Say the pool is $100 and there are only two games in the fund:
| Game | Plays | Returning players | Score | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game A | 800 | 20 | 800 + 100 = 900 | $56.25 |
| Game B | 400 | 60 | 400 + 300 = 700 | $43.75 |
Game B had half the plays, but its players kept coming back, so it earned almost as much.
Every payout is public
The creator fund page shows this month’s pool, how it’s splitting right now and every past month’s payouts. Nobody has to take our word for it.
Where the money comes from
The pool is funded by KaoGames, including advertising. When a month closes, each share is added to the creator’s balance in Your games. A balance can already pay for boosts, and cash-outs will open soon through a payments partner that verifies identity first.
Getting in
Publish a game and it’s in the fund from its first month. The developers page has everything you need, including prompts to get your AI assistant to do most of the work.