The game “Banana,” which is literally just a clicker wherein players are asked to click on an image of a banana over and over, is blowing up in popularity on Steam, breaking more than 600,000 concurrent players. Having gone so sober, most of this surge has been powered by in-game items players can earn and Cash out for real money on Steam’s Community Market.
“Banana” offers very minimal gameplay wherein the players click on a banana to raise their score with no important achievements or upgrades. The game does, however, reward players with in-game items, which drop periodically. Now, to reap all these welfare benefits, the player has only to play the game for short periods; common items drop every three hours, and rarer items every eighteen hours. All of these items could later on be resold in the Steam Marketplace for prices ranging from a few cents to hundreds of dollars. Some of these few items, such as the “Special Golden Banana,” were listed for as much as $1,800.
The creator of the game, aaladin66, made “Banana” in Unity, equipping it with a monetization system wherein players purchase digital bananas for $0.25 each. It’s clear that the real money one is supposed to gain by trading items is still the eventual wild card that has the strongest pull. This aspect of the game has spawned an in-game economy just as active as other games that have been associated with digital item trading.
“Banana” has surpassed popular multiplayer titles like Apex Legends and GTA V in concurrent player counts, highlighting its unexpected success. The simplicity and low entry barrier, combined with the potential for financial profit, have attracted a broad audience. Additionally, the game has faced issues with botting, as some players use multiple accounts to maximize item drops. The developers are addressing these issues with Valve to maintain the game’s integrity.
The phenomenon just goes to prove that at times the simplest of games can turn into gigantic hits if they hook onto proper community dynamics and incentives. “Banana” has turned—through this minimal gameplay mixed with economic speculation—into almost a case study on the unforeseen success stories in the realm of gaming.
