EA’s Battlefield Heroes might be a free-to-play game, but the publisher is making an average on $20 from every player, according to EA analytics manager Rommy Ghaly.

The microtransactions model seems to be working well for the game, with players spending considerable amounts on customising their characters in particular.

A total of 76 per cent of all ’Battlefunds’ - the game’s currency - are spent on these customisation items, Ghaly told IGN. With the top five in order of popularity being the Kommendant’s Coat, the Special Forces Officer Cap, Maverik’s Sunglasses, the Elite Camo Trousers and the Marksman’s Honor.

Advancement widgets, which allow players to earn hero abilities and buy better weapons, are also proving popular, while the remaining five per cent of Battlefunds are spent on ’emotes’, with flex and the robot dance being the most attractive, followed by laughing, throat-cutting and cheering.

With Ghaly confirming over 1.5 million users have now signed up to the game, this $20 average suggests the game has earned its publisher around $30 million to date.

These users, Ghaly said, are spread across 133 countries altogether; although 75 per cent of them come from just ten countries - the US, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Poland and Brazil. And since the game’s closed beta began in February, the "Play Now" button has been pressed over 40 million times.

"Heroes is a live experiment in the gaming industry," said Ghaly, "so this data also allows us to see how close or how far off we were on our early predictions."