Complete Guide to Ghost Memberships for Game Developers

Monetizing Games with Ghost Memberships

Ghost's built-in membership system is perfect for gaming portals. Offer free games to attract players, then convert them to paid members for premium content.

Setting Up Tiers

Free Tier

Every visitor can create a free account. This unlocks streak tracking, game history, and access to member-only games. Free members are your growth engine.

Premium Tier

Paid members get access to all games, including exclusive premium titles. Set monthly and yearly pricing with Stripe handling all payment processing.

Content Gating Strategies

• Freemium model — 70% of games are free, 30% premium
• Time-gated — new games are premium for 2 weeks, then become free
• Feature-gated — base game is free, advanced features require premium

Ghost Membership API

Ghost provides a complete JavaScript API for membership management:

// Check if user is a member
if (window.GameDock.getMember()) {
    // Show premium content
} else {
    // Show signup prompt
}

// Trigger Portal signup
window.location.hash = '#/portal/signup';

// Trigger Portal account
window.location.hash = '#/portal/account';

Revenue Optimization

Convert Free to Paid

Show premium game previews to free members. Let them play the first level, then prompt upgrade. This converts at 3-5x higher rates than blanket paywalls.