It's been testing the new approach in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan since September. 'We want this to be as clear and transparent as possible.'

'We don’t want to fool anyone,' she says. The company has spent months working on the new setup, trying to offer a range of options to customers and clearly label what is free and what is paid.Shifting to an in-app purchase model will allow the company to bring together its various worlds, provide more frequent updates and offer various perks to an older set of 6–9 year olds.'This is really a very big step for us as a company,' acknowledges Toca Boca president Caroline Ingeborn in an interview. Why it matters: The move is likely to encounter pushback, but is part of a broader industry shift to focus on recurring revenue. Those who have already bought a Toca Life app will have that content unlocked from the get-go. What's new: With Toca Life: World, the company is bringing together what had been several paid products into a single free app, with different paid options to unlock various content. It's simultaneously moving its focus toward older kids and to a model that embraces in-app purchases rather than one-time upfront payments. Toca Boca, known for its open-ended play apps for young children, is in the midst of the biggest shift in its history.

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