Whitepaper · January 1, 2021

White Paper on Global Mobile Games 2021

Summary

The 2021 mobile gaming landscape was defined by a transition toward creative-led advertising strategies necessitated by rising acquisition costs and shifting privacy regulations. As iOS privacy changes prompted a strategic pivot toward Android platforms, the industry experienced a 200% surge in ad creatives and a 34% year-over-year increase in CPMs on major platforms like Meta. With the United States emerging as the most expensive market at an average CPM of $28.18, advertisers increasingly prioritized data-driven optimization and regional targeting to maintain return on investment amidst a broader 5% slowdown in total advertiser market growth. While casual and puzzle games maintained the highest volume of individual advertisers globally, RPGs consistently dominated in total creative output across key regions, including Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. To combat market saturation, developers shifted toward high-engagement formats, specifically vertical video ads exceeding 30 seconds and playable end cards. These creative strategies, often incorporating celebrity endorsements and real-people trailers, became essential tools for driving conversions in a competitive environment where traditional tracking methods faced significant headwinds. Looking toward future growth, the industry is increasingly focused on globalization and the refinement of hybrid monetization models. Developers are diversifying revenue streams by integrating NFTs and combining traditional in-app purchases with ad-based structures. Furthermore, the adoption of privacy-compliant user acquisition, such as early SKAN testing and AI-driven optimization, has become a prerequisite for success. As companies expand into emerging markets like the Middle East and the CIS, the combination of M&A activity, social feature integration, and sophisticated monetization frameworks will remain central to navigating the complexities of the post-privacy mobile ecosystem.

From the report

Second, more ad creatives are taking the form of video which dominates and accounts for over 85% of all forms of ads. It can be very challenging for a team to produce a great number of creatives. But having access to the ad creatives of other games or competing games can greatly help improve the production efficiency of creatives. Third, the cost is soaring. The average CPM on Facebook increased by 34% in 2021. Without any cost intelligence about the specific areas, an advertising budget can’t be set, which will undermine the smooth running of the advertising and further lead to the inefficient acquisition of customers. Preface Besides, Android advertisers have been making as much advertising effort as iOS advertisers, which is a noticeable result of the iOS privacy policy. VP of SocialPeta：Constance Gao With the rapid development of the game industry, “involution” has become an inevitable consequence in the game market. As the saying goes, if you know yourself and know your enemy, you will gain victory a hundred times out of a hundred. So, a company’s product strategy and publishing strategy, for a top product, and unexpectedly successful product, or a directly competing product, would be greatly affected by whether the company has quick access to correct ad intelligence. Competition in the global market is getting more intense as the number of creatives is surging and CPM is significantly increasing. According to the overall data, there are 3 major trends in the global mobile game market.

ffected by whether the company has quick access to correct ad intelligence. Competition in the global market is getting more intense as the number of creatives is surging and CPM is significantly increasing. According to the overall data, there are 3 major trends in the global mobile game market. First, market competition is getting increasingly intense, which can be seen from the number of advertisers and the number of ad creatives. In Q3 2021 as compared to Q3 2020, the number of advertisers maintained at around 26,000, but ad creatives increased by 200% YoY, indicating very fierce competition. Personalized promotion has become a mainstream model. It’s worthwhile to pay attention to local platforms in local markets. And, there have also been some changes in choosing a target market. Early exporting strategies were globalization. Companies didn’t know which were key areas and therefore adopted globalization strategies. As game companies gained more and more experience in exporting games, they gradually developed special skills in exporting certain types of games into certain areas. For example, Kunlun focuses on the Southeast Asia, and efun on China’s Taiwan. Now companies would decide where to export games based on their resources and the game features. Many games have target users before they are published, or even have target markets even before they are developed. even before they are developed. With those companies getting established over time, market conditions and trends of all areas have been known to the whole industry. For instance, the US, Japan, and South Korea are classified as T1 markets with higher paying user rates and higher ROI.

are developed. even before they are developed. With those companies getting established over time, market conditions and trends of all areas have been known to the whole industry. For instance, the US, Japan, and South Korea are classified as T1 markets with higher paying user rates and higher ROI. The UK, France, and Germany are T2 markets with a considerable user base and high spending ability. Russia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are T3 markets. However, the classification of markets was confirmed largely based on the experience of exporting games. the experience of exporting games. 01

CONTENTS 0 1 02 2021 Mobile Game Insights into Advertising on Top Marketing Insights Platforms Worldwide / 02 / 16 03 04 Insights into Top Trend of Ad Creatives Countries/Regions Worldwide for Mobile Games Worldwide / 31 / 47 Industry Insights / 53

A Slowdown in the Growth of Mobile Game Advertisers in the Post -Pandemic Era There was a significant slowdown in the growth of mobile game advertisers in 2021, a YoY increase of 5% which was noticeably lower than last year’s 44%. The market had maintained stable development in the Post-Pandemic Era. At this rate, the number of mobile game advertisers worldwide is expected to surpass 70K in 2023 Nearly 65K mobile game advertisers this year Game Advertise M-o-M Growth Rate 80K 46.77% 43.97% 50% 70K 45% 60K 33.77% 40% 35% 50K 30% 40K 25% 30K 20% 20K 15% 4.99% 4.76% 10% 10K 4.54% 5% Source: SocialPeta, based on data retrieved from backend data sources 03 Date: 2017- 2021.

Average Duration of Creatives is 32.5 days Average duration of creatives each year The duration of creatives was getting longer as more and more “classic creatives” with longer duration released in market. 87.9% YoY 32.5 Average duration of creatives increased YoY in 2021 17.3 11.1 7.3 8.7 32.5 days 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Average duration of creatives in 2021 Source: SocialPeta, based on data retrieved from backend data sources Date: 2017- 2021.

Pages: 63
Words: 9,885
Type: Whitepaper

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