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What's the deal with Game of War's terrible playable ads
Key insights
5 takeaways- 01The integration of low-quality, intrusive third-party advertisements negatively impacts the perceived value of the host game, potentially alienating the existing player base.
- 02Machine Zone utilizes deceptive playable ads for titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike that feature mechanics, such as tower defense or dungeon runners, which are entirely absent from the actual core gameplay.
- 03The industry-wide practice of prioritizing high-volume user acquisition through misleading ads creates a disconnect that frequently leads to immediate player frustration and uninstalls.
- 04Aggressive, non-representative advertising strategies risk long-term brand degradation and damage the retention metrics of both the advertised product and the host application.
- 05Developers face an ongoing tension between short-term conversion metrics and sustainable player retention, with current trends suggesting that deceptive marketing acts as a deterrent rather than an effective growth tool.
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Transcript
[Music] Hello and welcome to Pocket Gamer. Busy's YouTube channel. I'm John Jordan and the game we're looking at is called Red Dungeon. So, it's, as you can see here, it's a dungeon game. I'm just um tapping around. It's an endless dungeon runner type thing. We die a lot. Okay, so I died. Typical thing here. I collected some coins. I can I can't I've had 100 coins. I could continue. I don't have 100 coins, so I can't. I could watch a video ad. I don't want to do that. So, let's um let's go back and have another go. Oh, hold on. What's here? Okay, so this is just like what is this? This is supposedly Game of War. This is looks nothing like Game of War. This is like a play supposedly a playable version of Game of War, but this doesn't look like Game of War. So, it's an absolute odd thing. I can I didn't ask for it, so it's not opt in. So, it's a it's a thing that's been
imposed on me that's nothing actually to do with the game. So, it's not really the developer's fault. Um, in this case, they this is just an ad an ad kind of format that they've allowed to happen in their game. Um, but in general, as a player, this is a bad experience. Um, I could just press the cross in the top right and it will go away. But, um, just to show you how bad these interactive ads are, I'm going to build an archer by tapping on it. Oh, brother. And this is supposed to be encouraging me to play Game of War. [Music] It's just I I don't really know how people can get I mean one I don't really know how m why machines owner allowing this to happen because I
mean it must work otherwise we wouldn't be doing it but if they said this is kind of like a a teaser for game of war that's something but this is just not game of war and it just looks awful anyway so that wasn't very enjoyable was it? Let's Oh, I can't. What? And I've been dropped off. I do any better this time. Oh, I missed all the good stuff. Off again. Guess what's happened. So this again is not Game of War, but it's an interactive ad for Game of War. That's definitely not Mariah Carey. So this is actually a Tad Defense. This is like a TAD defense
version. I don't know. What is it? I mean, what Game of War apparently is a tower defense game. I don't know. I don't one I I just don't understand how what bad quality experience this is and two getting it so frequently just makes me think makes me not like Game of War and not like the game it's in. I think we have developers have to be quite careful really about interacting um into about integrating these I mean rewarded video ads you have to be careful about I think anyway because that's what anyone who looks at rewarded video ad now you get a lot of um ads from certain games so game of war is one and um mobile strike both from same developer MZ um machine zone is
yeah you know is to spend a lot of money which is why they're doing this why they're kind of doing this I suppose um you you can put too much you can just have too much advertising even rewarded video ads which generally people like this isn't even rewarded this is just like this make would I imagine immediately make me want to uninstall the game this seems really odd that developers would do this don't do it I think is the is is my conclusion and it's kind of funny because obviously we're kind of going back to this thing here where you can see I spend money to remove the ads. So, is it the case that they've integrated this in such a way that it's trying to drive people? I don't know. Very odd.
Summary
The mobile gaming industry faces a growing disconnect between promotional content and actual gameplay, exemplified by the aggressive advertising strategies employed by Machine Zone for titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike. These interactive, playable advertisements often feature mechanics—such as dungeon runners or tower defense sequences—that bear no resemblance to the core gameplay of the advertised product. This practice creates a jarring user experience, as these ads are frequently forced upon players rather than offered as opt-in, rewarded content.
The prevalence of these misleading advertisements suggests that developers prioritize high-volume user acquisition despite the potential for brand degradation. While such aggressive marketing tactics may be intended to drive downloads, they often result in player frustration, potentially leading to uninstalls of both the advertised game and the host application. The reliance on low-quality, non-representative interactive ads highlights a tension between short-term conversion metrics and long-term player retention.
Developers must exercise caution when integrating third-party advertising networks, as the quality of these ads directly impacts the perceived value of the host game. Over-saturation of intrusive advertising, particularly when the content is deceptive, undermines the user experience and risks alienating the player base. Ultimately, the industry should prioritize transparency and relevance in advertising to maintain player trust, as the current trend of deploying disconnected, low-quality playable ads serves as a deterrent rather than an effective marketing tool.
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