Crossy Road uses a free to play model to make over $1M without going the Dungeon Keeper route

We already knew that endless Frogger-like Crossy Road was popular on both iOS and Android. But we didn't know how much money it was making until now.

Well, it turns out that it has accumulated over a million dollars from using Unity Ads. The ads are 15 seconds long and only advertise other games.

This news comes from Unity itself, who recently interviewed the game's creators, Andy Sum and Matt Hall.

As you'll know if you've played it, in Crossy Road you can purchase new animal characters to try to get across the endless traffic and rivers with.

This includes Pewdiepie's pups, penguins, chickens, sheep, and a hipster whale (which is also the name of the development studio).

It's a fun bunch, each with their own quirks, such as the pooping pigeon. I'll admit it did make me giggle when I first discovered it.

Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

To buy them you need in-game coins. You can get hold of these coins through three different methods.

Either, you can spend real currency on IAPs to get more coins. Or you can earn them by playing the game, or by watching video ads.

The million dollar figure only applies to the iOS video ads, and not the Android version which also uses Unity Ads, so goodness knows how much money it has made all together.

Hall revealed to Unity that the video ads were inspired by playing Disco Zoo, which also uses them. It turned out to be a monetisation system that both creators found agreeable.

"We didn't want any consumable purchases, we wanted to do something that everybody could pay a little bit for if they wanted to, but where it wasn't necessary to keep paying," Sum said.

Indeed, Sum told us last year that he considered Crossy Road's monetisation to be "fair and ethical." There are no wait timers, dual currencies, or invasive ads (ones that you didn't agree to view).

It's an approach that seems to have won you lot over, at least.

I mean, compare it to the unpopular and exploitative methods of monetisation in EA's Dungeon Keeper reboot. That game is chock full of wait timers that could be skipped with IAPs.

It was so bad that even EA's CEO Andrew Wilson called the game "a shame."

Wilson also said: "when you're thinking about any business model, premium, subscription, free-to-play, value has to exist. Whether it's a dollar, $10, $100 or $1000, you have to deliver value, and always err on the side of delivering more value, not less."

So, given the popularity and design of Crossy Road, maybe it can be held up as a good example of a free to play mobile game. What do you think?

In any case, there are more unlockable animals being added to Crossy Road soon. For example, on Australia Day, January 26th, a number of Aussie animals will be available (including a platypus).

While also updating Crossy Road, its popularity and profits have ensured that its creators can work on other projects without having to worry about money now.