It must be said: developing a game and have it enjoyed by millions is something very special. Things really went bananas when I was invited to an art gallery showcasing art inspired by my very game:
https://willem.com/blog/2022-04-18_snake-97-high-scores/
The game sparsely shows ads - just enough to keep things running. I personally hate (over)monetised apps, and therefore made sure the Snake app doesn't bombard the player with ads.
Part of the game's (organic) growth is (kindly + infrequently) asking players to share their high scores with their friends. It saves me from having to advertise the game to reach new players.
(If a player shares his or her highscore, ads are even less frequently shown, as an hidden reward)
On how it got where it is, including a fun back story, I wrote a blog post: https://willem.com/blog/2018-02-21_updating-snake-97/
It must be said: developing a game and have it enjoyed by millions is something very special. Things really went bananas when I was invited to an art gallery showcasing art inspired by my very game: https://willem.com/blog/2022-04-18_snake-97-high-scores/
It makes me feel humble and grateful.