Playrix and Gardenscapes: It Is Time to Stop Squeezing Competitive Players

Playrix and Gardenscapes illustration showing pressure on competitive players through difficult gameplay and monetization

Why Playrix should stop relying on competitive Gardenscapes players for revenue and focus on casual players with better value offers.

There is a clear reality in Gardenscapes that Playrix seems to ignore: players who have reached high levels and play competitively have already paid—and often paid a lot. Continuing to base the game’s revenue strategy almost entirely on these players is not only unfair, but also a poor business decision.

Competitive Players Have Already Paid Their Share

To participate seriously in events, tournaments, and team goals, players constantly need boosters, extra moves, and retries. This means that players who chase top results have already spent far more than the average Gardenscapes player. As players progress into the highest levels of the game, these costs become even more noticeable.

When the company keeps adding increasingly demanding events and mechanics that effectively push players toward additional purchases, the message becomes clear: “Pay more if you want to remain competitive.”

This is not a sustainable strategy. It is a recipe for fatigue, frustration, and eventually the departure of players who have financially supported the game for years.

The Real Untapped Audience Is Casual Players

At the same time, there is a huge number of players who play Gardenscapes purely to relax. They do not chase rankings, they do not care about leaderboards, and they feel no need to spend money. There is nothing wrong with that.

However, this audience also represents Playrix’s biggest missed revenue opportunity.

Across the mobile gaming industry, revenue growth does not come only from so-called whales. A major opportunity comes from converting free players into light spenders—players who are willing to spend small amounts when they can clearly see the value of an offer. That approach is closely connected to how Gardenscapes may generate revenue in the future.

The Problem Is Not Level Difficulty—It Is Where Monetization Is Aimed

It is important to be clear: the levels do not need to become easier. Challenge is part of the identity of Gardenscapes, and it should remain that way.

The problem is not the gameplay. The problem is where and how the company is trying to generate revenue.

Instead of putting more pressure on players who already spend money through increasingly expensive event mechanics, Playrix should offer casual players packages with genuine value:

Bundles containing two or three times more boosters at a low price
One-time offers for new or occasional players
Packages that support level progression without affecting competitive events

Not pay-to-win. Not reduced difficulty. Simply clear value that makes a casual player think, “Yes, this is worth spending two or three euros on.”

Why This Strategy Would Be Both Fairer and More Profitable

With this model:

Competitive players would not feel that they are being exploited
Casual players would have a reason to support the game without feeling pressured
Playrix could increase the game’s overall conversion rate
Gardenscapes could maintain its challenge and reputation

This is not just a theory. It is a basic monetization principle used by successful free-to-play games: revenue grows when the number of players making small purchases increases, not when a company focuses only on extracting more money from people who already spend. This is also one reason why Gardenscapes has had such a significant financial impact on Playrix.

Playrix Must Choose Between Growth and Overexploitation

If the company continues designing events that effectively require players to purchase boosters constantly in order to participate seriously, sooner or later it will begin losing the very players who have kept the game financially successful.

However, if Playrix begins targeting casual players with intelligent value packs, it could increase revenue without destroying the game’s balance and without turning Gardenscapes into a paywall.

The choice is entirely strategic. So far, Playrix appears to be making the wrong one.

Nik Marlow, Gardenscapes Team Leader

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