Current model (2026): CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold ships as a paid Steam PC release (App ID 4901100). The playable browser build is gone. This site no longer sells epilogues, cosmetics, or soundtrack downloads — purchase happens on Steam.
This page documents how monetization thinking evolved: first a free web prototype with optional paid epilogues, then a single Steam storefront for the full game, soundtrack, and 140 achievements.
Today: one Steam product
Players discover the game on Steam, not through a browser tab with scattered checkout links. That keeps pricing honest, refunds predictable, and the marketing site focused on lore, wiki, and press material instead of acting as a store.
- Game + progress — sold and updated through Steam.
- Soundtrack — full Across the Silent Stars album on Steam (the site only streams 30-second previews).
- Achievements — 140 Steam trophies, not a separate web unlock flow.
Design principles (still in force)
These rules applied to the browser era and still guide the Steam release:
- No loot boxes or gacha. Ever.
- No pay-to-win. Money never buys combat power, faster progression, or exclusive crew.
- No ads. Narrative immersion stays clean.
- No fake currencies. Prices are shown plainly — on Steam today, not as hidden gem wallets.
- No FOMO timers. Content is not sold as limited-time pressure.
Browser-era model (archived)
The sections below describe the retired web prototype (circa 2024–2025). They are kept as design history, not current purchase instructions.
What we tried instead of Steam first
- Flat price ($10–15 up front). High barrier for browser players who will not pay before trying.
- Pay-what-you-want. Most players default to $0 without strong guidance.
- Patreon / subscription. Wrong fit for a finite narrative game.
- Microtransactions / loot boxes. Tonal mismatch for a story about branch ethics.
- Ad-supported. Breaks immersion.
We landed on free base game + optional paid epilogues ($4.99 each) and occasional $2.99 cosmetics — all verified server-side via Stripe + Firebase (see Stripe & Firebase Integration).
Why the base game was free on the web
Browser games live in an attention market. A payment wall in the first 30 seconds kills conversion entirely. Letting players reach all four endings for free built trust; epilogues were additive expansions after narrative closure, not withheld endings.
Why epilogues (web only)
Each epilogue added 2–3 hours after an ending — strictly additive, rational purchase timing, no FOMO. Sacred, Multiverse, Another Life, and Burn each got a deeper post-credits lane. That SKU structure made sense on the web; Steam later folded the experience into one product line.
Web-era metrics (historical)
Roughly 4% of players who finished the free web run bought at least one epilogue — high for F2P, but lower revenue per payer than aggressive mobile gacha. Average paying user was about $8–12 (bundle + cosmetic). Smaller but healthier than predatory models.
Why we moved to Steam
Three practical reasons: (1) players expect a PC narrative RPG on a trusted storefront, not a tab + Stripe return URLs; (2) one price for game + soundtrack + achievements is simpler to explain than epilogue SKUs; (3) the public web build was retired, so continuing web-only monetization would mislead visitors. Steam became the canonical product surface.