The PewDiePie Tuber Simulator game has racked up over 12 million downloads so far. The game is free to buy but has likely already scored $5.3 million in earnings. That number is an estimate based on $1.2 million in potential in-app purchases and $4.1 million in ad revenue. Read on to see how we came up with these figures.
So many iPhone and Android users downloaded the app in the first 24 hours that they crashed PewDiePie’s game servers. In the game, players create pretend YouTube channels, watch ads, rack up video views and earn “Bux.” Tuber Simulator Bux can also be bought with real money. Income from the game adds to PewDiePie’s already colossal $88 million net worth.
PewDiePie Tuber Simulator Money Facts
PewDiePie Tuber Simulator Money Facts | |
|---|---|
| Tuber Simulator Release Date | 9/29/16 |
| Tuber Simulator number of downloads so far (per PewDiePie tweet plus estimated downloads since tweet) | 14,000,000 |
| Price to download Tuber Simulator | Free |
| Cost of Tuber Simulator in-app purchases | $0.99 to $99.99 |
| Percentage of all app-users who buy in-app purchases | 5% |
| Average spend per user per month on in-app purchases for most games | $9.60 |
| Days since release | 6 |
| Number of Tuber Simulator users so far who bought in-app purchases | 700,000 |
| Tuber Simulator money from in-app purchases so far | $1,344,000 |
| Tuber Simulator ad revenue so far (estimate) | $5,320,000 |
| Tuber Simulator money made so far | $6,664,000 |
| Tuber Simulator money after Apple 30% cut | $4,664,800 |
The table above shows the top level Tuber Simulator money facts. Released on 9/29/16, the game reached one million downloads in the first 24 hours. The app is free to download, so PewDiePie didn’t make any money from that activity. Just two days later, PewDiePie announced on his Twitter account that the game had broken three million downloads. Here’s where the money comes in: in-app purchases and ads. We’ll look at in-app purchases first.
Stoked to announce that Pewdiepie's Tuber Simulator reached 11.5 mil downloads. Full online features and leaderboards are around the corner!
— pewdiepie (@pewdiepie) October 14, 2016
Tuber Simulator In-App Purchase Money
Players of Tuber Simulator can succeed at the game without buying anything. That said, winning is easier to those who shell out. The table below shows the various levels of in-app purchases. PewDiePie “Bux” cost anywhere from 99 cents for 100 to $99.99 for 14,500. What good are Bux? Well, in the game, players buy stuff to trick out their grubby, cracked-plaster apartments. Spending real money on in-game “Bux” can increase a player’s shipping speed. That lets players advance faster through the game’s levels.
Tuber Simulator In-App Purchases | |
|---|---|
| 100 Bux | $0.99 |
| 550 Bux | $4.99 |
| 1,200 Bux | $9.99 |
| 2,500 Bux | $19.99 |
| 5,200 Bux | $39.99 |
| 14,500 Bux | $99.99 |
Related: PewDiePie Net Worth
Tuber Simulator: $1.2 Million So Far from In-App Spending
Tuber Simulator money of $1.2 million so far comes from in-app spending. That’s an estimate, but probably a pretty solid one. According to mobile analytics firm AppsFlyer, only 5% of all mobile game players spend money on in-app purchases. Not a high percentage, but that 5% spends an average of $9.60 per month on in-app spending. Assuming players of Tuber Simulator fit the norm, 625,000 of them will spend money on in-app purchases this month. That’s $1.44 million, even if downloads screech to a halt today. Since only two weeks have elapsed since release, Tuber Simulator has made only about 13% of that money so far, or $1.2 million. That money will almost certainly go up as time passes, so check back here for updates.
Tuber Simulator Money from Ads
Another 4.1 million in estimated Tuber Simulator money has already rolled in from ad revenue. Tuber Simulator’s players can increase the number of views on their pretend YouTube videos by watching ads. The ads aren’t pretend at all. One is for a real website that sells jigsaw puzzles. We don’t have stats yet on how many ads each player will watch, but we can make a couple assumptions. We estimate each game player will watch 50 ads. That may seem high, but consider that there’s an in-game incentive to watch ads. Also, players will likely play the game for more than just a few minutes (the average iOS game player spends 14.7 hours a month, with most of that time spent after initial download). With ten hours of game play, that 50 ad figure isn’t high.
$4.1 Million from Ads
With 12.5 million downloads so far and 50 ads per player, that gives a total of 625 million ads watched. We don’t know exactly how much money Tuber Simulator makes per ad view. Advertisers could even pay a lump sum in advance to be part of the deal. We’re using a rough figure of $7.60 earned for every 1,000 views as that’s about where marketing analysts put PewDiePie’s YouTube earnings. If that figure is accurate, Tuber Simulator could have made $1.14 million from ad revenue in four days.
Tuber Simulator Ad Money Estimate | |
|---|---|
| Ads watched per player | 50 |
| Ads watched so far by all players | 700,000,000 |
| Money made t $7.60 per 1,000 views | $5,320,000 |
Also see: How Much is YouTube Worth?
How Does Tuber Simulator Money Add to PewDiePie’s Net Worth?
So far it’s unlikely Tuber Simulator has made a significant addition to PewDiePie’s net worth. The gamer is worth an estimated $88 million as of 10/17/16. Further, the game may have made $7.1 million so far, but that doesn’t mean PewDiePie kept all of that. Apple will take their cut of in-app downloads. Also, PewDiePie likely spent money developing the game and working out deals with his advertisers. Taxes will take about half of whatever money he does make. Still, if the app’s download rate keeps up, it will very probably form a handsome income stream for the world’s most popular YouTuber. PewDiePie has amassed 13.5 billion YouTube views. That’s more views than any other YouTube channel, including channels owned by Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.