Marketing·Updated Mar 17, 2026 by SocialPeta
Chinese developers dominated the global market in 2021 H1, accounting for 70% of top-charting mobile game media buying and 100% of the top ten advertisers on Facebook’s News Feed.
Advertising costs surged significantly, with Facebook’s average CPC and CPM increasing by 128% year-over-year due to heightened competition.
Apple’s IDFA policy changes triggered a 13% decline in the share of iOS advertising creatives, forcing a strategic shift in focus toward Android platforms.
Total advertising creatives for hard-core gaming and non-game sectors saw massive growth, with non-game creatives rising 38% to 47.6 million and total creatives increasing 108% year-on-year to over 19 million.
Strategy games exhibited the highest media buying intensity per advertiser, while RPG and Puzzle genres led the industry in total creative volume.
Marketing strategies shifted toward short-form video, live-action footage, and influencer-led campaigns to mitigate rising acquisition costs and privacy-related tracking limitations.
Chinese developers dominated the global market in 2021 H1, accounting for 70% of top-charting mobile game media buying and 100% of the top ten advertisers on Facebook’s News Feed.
Advertising costs surged significantly, with Facebook’s average CPC and CPM increasing by 128% year-over-year due to heightened competition.
Apple’s IDFA policy changes triggered a 13% decline in the share of iOS advertising creatives, forcing a strategic shift in focus toward Android platforms.
Total advertising creatives for hard-core gaming and non-game sectors saw massive growth, with non-game creatives rising 38% to 47.6 million and total creatives increasing 108% year-on-year to over 19 million.
Strategy games exhibited the highest media buying intensity per advertiser, while RPG and Puzzle genres led the industry in total creative volume.
Marketing strategies shifted toward short-form video, live-action footage, and influencer-led campaigns to mitigate rising acquisition costs and privacy-related tracking limitations.