Facebook has announced a series of changes for its developers that seem to be aimed at giving developers more control over prices set in-game, and consequently appeal to users more specifically. Facebook is retaining its share of takings, but will the changes mean free-to-play games are going to become more approachable?

Facebook's revenue remains between 30-70 percent, but developers now set the fee over the monthly subscription with the lowest at a dollar. It seems like a sensible change by Facebook, allowing developers to set prices for the user base it knows.

Facebook is also droppings its Credits virtual currency, which was an attempt to create a universal currency. Facebook found, though, that developers use a custom virtual currency. That means two things: one, customers associate a particular currency with a game; two, a smaller virtual currency is easier to manage on a game-by-game basis. Items will also be priced in the user's local currency.

It means that users will probably feel attached to a game, rather than Facebook, which in turn could result in more invested time. In Jetpack Joyride upgrades can be bought, which in turn means higher scores, which in turn means more points. The carrot-and-stick approach to game development fits free-to-play well, because users can quickly upgrade or increase performance. It also means casual gamers can easily access rewards previously limited to players who invested hours of play time.

Apple and Google in the App Store and Google Play respectively offer a similar model, where developers can set custom pricing. Taking Temple Run as an example, users can either play to earn upgrades or buy them. In Temple Run it's possible to never pay and earn upgrades.

It remains to be seen how accessible the changes make free-to-play games though, which are rising in popularity as retail games become more expensive. The question is whether developers can balance the need to grind, or "pay to win" by spending money to skip content. Other games, such as the MMOG Guild Wars 2, offer in-game items that are purely aesthetic when bought and use "Gems" as the virtual currency. Players can trade Gold for Gems.

Zynga, one of the biggest free-to-play developers and creators of farming simulator Farmville, said the fiscal relationship between it and the social network hasn't changed. Zynga most recently bought Draw Something developer OMGPOP for $200 million, another free-to-play title.