Agenda

Phillip Black explores the core economics and strategies behind billion-dollar cosmetic economies in his session, "Finding The $1 Billion Cosmetic Economy." Leveraging extensive experience from Electronic Arts (Battlefield, Knockout City) and numerous PC and console titles, Phillip introduces the economic fundamentals underpinning successful cosmetic monetization, such as Veblen goods, social hierarchy, and inflation dynamics. He provides detailed, practical examples illustrating how cosmetics drive sustained revenue through rarity systems, mirrors and stages, strategic bundling, and expanded cosmetic offerings like player passports and titles. Phillip also evaluates the impacts of distribution methods (battle pass, direct store, loot boxes), supported by unique data from titles such as Fortnite, Valorant, and CS:GO.

Takeaway

Attendees leave equipped with actionable strategies to improve cosmetic economies not only for monetization but also player engagement. This includes fundamental cosmetic design and distribution strategy. Attendees will also leave with a foundational model to examine future cosmetic games economies.

Intended Audience

This session targets product managers, game designers, live-service game economies, and building cosmetic progression systems across both PC/Console and mobile titles. Attendees should be interested in live service mechanics. Those managing or launching games leveraging cosmetic revenue will particularly benefit from insights into economic modeling, rarity management, and effective distribution strategies.