Asset flip

As the required investments are lower for users and publishers alike, mobile asset flips derive profits from free-to-play downloads with frequent in-game advertising and/or a freemium model.

[5] The meaning of the term received considerable debate after the launch of PUBG in 2017, as while the game made use of pre-made assets, it was successful and influential in the development of battle royale as a genre.

[10] The games were constructed out of assets from the Unity store, and were released in bulk after the studio had found a means of circumventing the $100 listing fee using a bundle mechanic.

[11] Valve released a statement addressing the move, stating: "this person was mass-shipping nearly-identical products on Steam that were impacting the store’s functionality and making it harder for players interested in finding fun games to play".

The steadily increasing amount of asset flips on Steam, due to a loosening of inclusion criteria, led to what commentators called the "Steampocalypse", in which discoverability for most indie developers dropped precipitously regardless of game quality.