'You could pretty much play it as long as you wanted without paying anything. There was a game called Punch Quest, which I really loved, that had a really friendly approach to monetization,' Hall said. 'There's very little precedent for games that are this friendly. For Hall, the game's model was a combination of experimentation and learning from the mistakes of others. Additional characters are unlocked by playing, though players have the option to purchase them with real-world money to speed up the process. Why the game is freeĬrossy Road is free to download and doesn't put up paywalls that prevent players from continuing. To find out more about what lies behind Crossy Road's hidden secrets, what it's like to be spotlighted by PewdiePie, and future plans for the game, GameSpot spoke with the duo behind Melbourne-based developer Hipster Whale: Matthew Hall and Andy Sum. The charming, voxel aesthetic and easily unlockable characters just add to its minimalist appeal. Straightforward controls make it possible to get in a quick game no matter where you're at, and a score-chasing leaderboard encourages constant competition between friends. The success of Crossy Road can mostly be attributed to its simplicity. It's a large milestone for the indie Australian developer, and the number only stands to grow as the game launches on Android this week.

Endless runner Crossy Road has only been out on iOS for a month, but developer Hipster Whale is already celebrating over ten million downloads.

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