Methodology

How we score monetization pressure

The 0-100 score is not a taste judgment. It counts measurable things: the share of content locked behind a paywall, the presence of energy systems or timers that push you toward paying to skip a wait, and how often the game prompts a purchase during normal play.

A high score means the game is built to create frequent purchase decisions. It does not mean the game is bad — a well-made game can still be built that way, and we say so in the notes for that game.

How we measure hours to complete

"Hours to complete" means hours to reach a scripted ending or the point where new content stops and repetition begins — whichever the game actually has. For games with no ending by design, we say so directly rather than leaving the field blank.

Where the numbers come from

Where a publisher states a price, a drop rate or a monetization change in an official patch note or store page, we cite it directly. Where no official figure exists, the page says so — we do not estimate a number and present it as fact.

What this does not cover

We do not track live balance changes day to day. A rating is current as of the year shown; a game that changes its monetization mid-year gets a new rating the following year, not a silent edit.

Every price on this site is the price in one region. Platform stores set prices per country, so the figure in your own store can differ from the one we quote, sometimes by a lot. We say which store and which region each price came from, and we know the problem first-hand: on one game page we initially declined to restate a Steam price because the store served us a euro-localised listing rather than the US one. What regional pricing does not change is the rating. The pressure score counts what a game sells you while you play, not how much it costs in your currency.

Corrections

If a rating is wrong or a source has changed, tell us at info@gamingsapps.com and we will check it.