ReportMintegral
The State of Games Media Buying United States Spotlight
1 Jan 202416 pages~4 min full read
The U.S. mobile gaming ad market is maturing, evidenced by a marginal 0.25% growth in active advertisers and a 29% decline in new market entrants during the first half of 2024.
See it on page 6Publishers are prioritizing established assets over experimentation, as total ad purchases grew by only 0.46% while the volume of new ad creatives dropped by 12%.
See it on page 7Genre dominance is shifting, with Puzzle games now leading in ad impressions, while Sports and Shooting genres saw the fastest growth, rising six and four places respectively.
See it on page 8Video ads remain the primary creative format, accounting for 87% of the ad mix in the Match genre, while playable ads remain a niche strategy used in only 13% of Hypercasual campaigns.
See it on page 12Campaign longevity is highly genre-dependent, ranging from an average of 47 days for Sports games to just 23.6 days for Role-Playing Games.
See it on page 13Market participants are increasingly transitioning from Hypercasual to Hybrid-casual models, utilizing Target ROAS and intelligent bidding to manage user acquisition costs.
See it on page 15The United States mobile gaming market maintained its position as a global leader in advertising activity during the first half of 2024. While the region ranks first globally in the total volume of app advertisers, it holds the second position for ad impressions, trailing only Southeast Asia. Despite this high ranking, the market shows signs of maturation and consolidation. The number of active advertisers grew by a marginal 0.25% year-over-year, while the proportion of new advertisers entering the space saw a significant decline of 29%. Similarly, while total ad purchases increased slightly by 0.46%, the volume of new ad creatives decreased by 12%, suggesting a shift toward established players and proven assets.
Shifts in genre performance and creative strategy define the current landscape. Puzzle games have overtaken Match games to claim the top spot in ad impression rankings, while the Sports and Shooting genres experienced the most rapid growth, rising six and four places respectively. Conversely, Hypercasual games saw a decline in impression share. Video ads remain the dominant creative format across all major genres, particularly in the Match category where they account for 87% of the ad mix. Playable ads remain a niche but specialized tool, utilized in 13% of Hypercasual campaigns compared to just 1% for Role-Playing Games.
Campaign longevity varies significantly by genre, reflecting different monetization and retention strategies. Sports games feature the most enduring campaigns, averaging 47 days, whereas Role-Playing Game campaigns typically run for only 23.6 days. To navigate this competitive environment, publishers are increasingly moving away from pure Hypercasual models toward Hybrid-casual structures, utilizing intelligent bidding and Target ROAS strategies to balance user acquisition costs with long-term profitability. This data, collected between the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, indicates that success in the U.S. market now requires a data-driven approach focused on retention and optimized media buying across both major platforms and programmatic SDK networks.
