The IAP Revenue Recognition Gap
Games that sell virtual currency, bundles, or items across multiple platforms routinely misclassify or fail to capture hundreds of thousands in revenue. When items are bundled, sold for virtual currency, or purchased on one platform but consumed on another, finance teams struggle to recognize revenue at the correct time under accounting standards. This creates a structural liability where the money comes in but cannot be properly recorded.
Successful studios invest in automated revenue recognition engines that track virtual currency flows, bundle compositions, and cross-platform entitlements in real-time, ensuring IAP data feeds directly into accounting systems with proper deferrals and allocations built in.