Fortune Mine Games’ casual slot experience Coin Chef offers a strong example of how mobile developers are being smart about monetization in 2026. Rather than just relying on sales through standard app stores, the company instead used its own web-based payment system, giving it more direct control over this aspect of its business method for player conversions and earnings. This case study highlights how that shift, powered by Aghanim, helped the game significantly improve revenue and player conversion in a short time.
Moving beyond app stores: Why Coin Chef needed a better system
Like most mobile games, Coin Chef initially depended heavily on platforms like Apple and Google for in-game purchases. While effective, this approach comes with a major drawback, though: platform fees that can go as high as 30%, limiting how much revenue developers actually retain.
At the same time, Fortune Mine had already experimented with web-based purchases, but the results were underwhelming. Only a small portion of revenue, around 18%, came from outside app stores, mainly because the experience wasn’t smooth enough. Players faced friction when moving from the game to external purchase pages, and the process lacked clarity and ease of use.
Aghanim’s Game Hub transforms player experience and revenue flow
To address these issues, Fortune Mine partnered with Aghanim and rebuilt its system around a more player-friendly approach. The core of this transformation was a personalized game hub, a dedicated web space where you can access exclusive offers, rewards, and purchase options in one place.
The biggest change came through direct-to-checkout flows, which significantly reduced the number of steps needed to complete a purchase. Instead of navigating through multiple pages, you are quickly guided to a ready-to-buy screen with pre-filled options and multiple payment methods like cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
The system also handled global payments, taxes, and compliance automatically, making it easier for players worldwide to complete transactions without friction. The results, too, were excellent and clearly displayed the improvements on offer.
Web revenue share jumped from 18% to 40% globally, more than doubling it. In the United States, particularly on iOS, the shift was even stronger, with 60% of revenue moving to the web. +20% in web conversion, +30% in total purchasers, and an additional 15% in incremental revenue all pointed to the growth.
Conor McLaughlin, CRO, Aghanim, shared: “This isn’t about optimizing a webshop – it’s about rebuilding DTC as infrastructure. Once you can compliantly reach players and convert them without friction, you expand beyond high-intent users and fundamentally change how revenue is distributed across platforms. Fortune Mine made that shift and turned DTC from a capped channel into a primary, global revenue driver. We’re happy to have helped them get there.”
If I were to sum it up, the Coin Chef case study shows that the shift to direct-to-consumer isn’t just about avoiding platform fees but making sure the players get a smoother experience in the process, too.
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