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Insights into Marketing Trends of Global Mobile Apps

The global mobile app marketing landscape in the first half of 2023 was defined by intense competition and a decisive shift toward dynamic content. Over 93% of the approximately 170,000 active advertisers launched new creatives during this period, with emerging markets in Africa and South Asia exhibiting the highest creative density. Android emerged as the primary platform for this activity, accounting for over 70% of total creatives. Video content has solidified its dominance, representing 45% of total ad impressions globally and reaching as high as 72% in the Middle East, while traditional static image performance continues to decline. Sector-specific trends highlight a massive AI-driven boom in tool apps, which saw year-over-year advertiser growth exceeding 100% across all tracked regions. While entertainment and social apps continue to lead in revenue and downloads across North America and Southeast Asia, the Middle East has surfaced as a high-potential market characterized by a young demographic and high digital engagement. In contrast, the reading app sector has reached a stage of maturity, relying on high creative refresh rates and established intellectual properties to sustain market share in an increasingly crowded environment. Technological innovation, particularly in Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality, is fundamentally altering user engagement. AI-integrated tools and "Social+" entertainment platforms are attracting heavy investment in Tier-1 markets, while AR is transitioning from a novelty to a core marketing medium. With over 300 million daily AR users already active on major social platforms, projections suggest that nearly 75% of the global population will be regular AR users by 2025. This shift is driven by the high visual attention and trust associated with immersive formats, which offer significantly higher receptivity compared to traditional digital advertising methods.

marketing advertising global+1

SocialPetaJan 2023

Report

From Hyper to Hybrid: 2023 Follow-up

The mobile gaming landscape experienced a notable shift in monetization and user acquisition patterns between 2022 and the first half of 2023. In-app purchase (IAP) activity demonstrated robust growth across both major mobile operating systems, with Android and Apple platforms recording increases of 23% and 24%, respectively. This upward trend in monetization suggests a resilient consumer base despite broader economic fluctuations within the mobile app ecosystem. Geographic distribution of installs remained relatively stable on Android, with India, Brazil, and the United States maintaining their positions as the top three markets. Conversely, the iOS landscape underwent more significant regional changes, as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany gained prominence, displacing China and Saudi Arabia from the top five rankings. These shifts highlight the evolving importance of Western markets for iOS-based mobile game developers. Ad network performance also saw a realignment in competitive dominance. On Android, Google Ads ascended to the top position for total installs in the first half of 2023, while Meta entered the top five. On iOS, AppLovin reclaimed the leading position, and Meta secured a top-five spot, reflecting a dynamic advertising environment where major platforms continue to vie for market share. This analysis relies on anonymized data aggregated by Tenjin from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The findings are restricted to ad networks and countries that achieved a minimum threshold of 25 million installs, ensuring that the reported trends represent significant market activity. By tracking these metrics, the data provides a clear view of the shifting priorities and regional focus areas for mobile publishers navigating the transition toward hybrid monetization models.

market-analysis mobile hypercasual+4

TenjinJan 2023

Report

Q1 2023 Insights into Global Mobile Game Marketing Trends

The global mobile game marketing landscape in early 2023 is characterized by a strategic pivot toward high-quality video content and localized engagement strategies. While the number of monthly active advertisers grew by 15% to over 160,000, the volume of new creative assets declined by 16%, signaling an industry-wide shift from quantity to quality. Android remains the primary platform for advertising, accounting for nearly 70% of total ad volume. Casual games continue to lead the market in both advertiser density and creative volume, though strategy and simulation genres are experiencing the most significant growth in advertiser participation. Marketing tactics have become increasingly sophisticated to combat rising acquisition costs and shifting consumer habits. Video content now comprises over 80% of all ad creatives, frequently utilizing "mini-game" mechanics, playable ads, and "deliberate failure" tropes to drive engagement. In the strategy sector, which is projected to see a 6.42% compound annual growth rate through 2027, developers are increasingly integrating casual gameplay elements into their marketing to broaden appeal. Conversely, the RPG market has cooled, experiencing its first revenue decline of 16% in 2022, leading advertisers in this space to rely more heavily on celebrity endorsements and gacha-related incentives. Geographic trends reveal a stark contrast in regional preferences and growth trajectories. North America maintains the highest advertiser density, while Southeast Asia and the Middle East are emerging as high-growth hubs, with Southeast Asian revenue projected to nearly double between 2020 and 2023. Regional success depends heavily on localization, such as TikTok-driven tournament content in Southeast Asia and social-integrated voice features in the Middle East. While puzzle games offer the most cost-effective advertising in the United States, the casino and simulation sectors are finding success in South America and global markets through relaxing creative themes and slots-focused advertising.

marketing advertising mobile+2

SocialPetaJan 2023

Report

Mobile Game Marketing: Insights & Trends of Popular Game Genres Q3 2022

The analysis examines mobile‑game marketing dynamics during the third quarter of 2022, concentrating on the performance of leading genres and the geographic distribution of traffic and revenue. By comparing download activity, user engagement, and monetisation across regions, it identifies where growth opportunities are emerging and which markets continue to dominate the ecosystem. Casual games recorded only modest increases in downloads, adding roughly five million installs versus the previous quarter and less than one percent year‑on‑year growth. Despite the limited acquisition surge, daily‑active‑user and monthly‑active‑user ratios remained stable, while revenue climbed seven percent year‑on‑year, an uplift of about thirty million dollars. The United States accounted for the largest share of earnings, generating more than $250 million—46 percent of total casual‑game revenue—and posted an eleven‑percent increase over the prior year. Meanwhile, less‑developed markets showed accelerating expansion, signalling untapped monetisation potential. Regionally, North America retained its position as the primary source of mobile‑game traffic, delivering a five‑percent year‑on‑year rise in downloads and a modest one‑percent quarter‑on‑quarter gain. Southeast Asia emerged as the fastest‑growing market, with download growth of eleven percent year‑on‑year and twelve percent quarter‑on‑quarter, underscoring its role as a catalyst for user‑base expansion. The contrast between the mature, revenue‑rich U.S. market and the rapidly scaling Southeast Asian audience highlights divergent strategic imperatives for acquisition versus monetisation. Overall, the findings suggest that while casual‑game revenue remains anchored by the United States, future growth will be driven by intensified marketing efforts in emerging regions, particularly Southeast Asia. Companies that balance retention‑focused tactics in established markets with aggressive user‑acquisition campaigns in high‑growth territories are likely to optimise both short‑term earnings and long‑term audience development.

marketing advertising market-analysis+2

SocialPetaSept 2022

Report

2022 Israeli Mobile Game Market Report

The 2022 Israeli mobile‑game market is portrayed as a rapidly expanding sector that now commands a global presence, with the analysis aiming to quantify its economic weight, identify the drivers behind its growth, and assess its competitive standing worldwide. In 2022 the market generated roughly nine billion dollars in revenue, supported by about two hundred development studios employing fourteen thousand people. Social and casual titles dominate both investment flows and install numbers, while action, strategy and hyper‑casual games lead in downloads and earnings, exemplified by hits such as Coin Master, PUBG Mobile and Fill the Fridge!. The surge was accelerated by the COVID‑19 pandemic, which deepened user engagement and boosted in‑app purchases, turning mobile gaming into a habitual pastime for a broad audience. Leading Israeli publishers—Playtika, Plarium, Moon Active and Crazy Labs—have leveraged this momentum to become global players, delivering diversified portfolios that span social, casino, RPG and simulation genres and consistently ranking among the world’s top‑performing titles. Beyond domestic performance, the study highlights divergent creative advertising formats across key international markets. U.S. campaigns favor live‑action influencer videos, Japanese ads emphasize character artwork, voice acting and gacha‑driven narratives, while South Korean promotions adopt their own distinct stylistic approaches. These regional preferences underscore the importance of tailored marketing strategies for Israeli developers seeking to expand beyond their home market.

market-analysis israel mobile+1

SocialPetaJul 2022

Report

Mobile Advertising Benchmark Report Q2 2022

The analysis evaluates how the universal rollout of Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency framework reshaped media‑mix decisions for performance‑driven mobile‑app advertisers between the second quarters of 2021 and 2022. By comparing adoption rates and share‑of‑wallet across the principal acquisition channels, it demonstrates that Apple Search Ads (ASA) has moved from a peripheral position to a core component of the duopoly with Google, overtaking Facebook in advertiser adoption while narrowing the gap in spend allocation. ASA’s adoption climbed to 94.8 %—a four‑point year‑over‑year increase—and its share‑of‑wallet rose five points to 15 %. In contrast, Facebook’s adoption slipped to 82.8 % (down three points) and its share‑of‑wallet fell four points to 28 %, though a modest rebound from Q4 2021 to Q2 2022 hints at recovery. Google remained stable, with roughly 95 % adoption and a 34 % share‑of‑wallet, reflecting its dominance on Android. Among lower‑tier channels, TikTok’s adoption fell to 43.2 % (down seven points) while its spend share held steady at 3 %; Snap’s adoption edged up to 32.7 % after a dip, yet its share‑of‑wallet halved to 2 %. Top‑five DSPs and ad networks grew to 27 % adoption, indicating a shift toward non‑self‑attributing solutions

advertising market-analysis global+1

AppsumerJun 2022

Presentation

1Q FY2022 Presentation Material: October to December 2021

CyberAgent demonstrated significant financial growth during the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, with consolidated sales reaching 171 billion yen and operating profit increasing nearly threefold to 19.8 billion yen. This performance was primarily catalyzed by the Game business, where sales nearly doubled to 58.3 billion yen. The massive success of Uma Musume Pretty Derby, which surpassed 12 million downloads, drove a 15.1-fold year-over-year increase in operating profit for the segment. Despite this momentum, the inherent volatility of the gaming market led to a cautious approach regarding full-year forecasts. The Media segment, led by the streaming platform ABEMA, achieved 24.9 billion yen in sales but reported an operating loss of 3.8 billion yen. This deficit reflects aggressive reinvestment into the online betting platform WINTICKET and content expansion, including the acquisition of Babel Label and integration with the Nintendo Switch. ABEMA continues to scale its reach, recording over 76 million downloads and 18 million weekly active users. Meanwhile, the Internet Advertisement business achieved record sales, supported by the launch of three new subsidiaries focused on digital transformation. The long-term strategic framework involves utilizing high-margin profits from the Advertising and Game segments to fund the evolution of Media into a primary growth pillar and essential social infrastructure. This vision is underpinned by a corporate purpose focused on overcoming economic stagnation through digital innovation and global expansion. Future growth in the gaming sector is anticipated through a robust pipeline of high-profile intellectual properties, including titles based on Final Fantasy VII and Jujutsu Kaisen, while broader corporate sustainability is managed through integrated ESG initiatives.

market-analysis advertising game-publishing+1

CyberAgentJan 2022

Report

Türkiye Game Market 2022 Report

The 2022 Turkish gaming market represents a landscape of significant resilience and structural transition. Despite facing substantial economic headwinds, including currency depreciation and a contraction in total revenue to $625 million, the industry solidified its position as a major global hub for mobile development and esports. The primary thesis of the market’s evolution is a strategic pivot away from the rapid, volume-based "gold rush" of hyper-casual gaming toward sustainable, high-quality production, intellectual property creation, and diversification into PC, console, and hybrid-casual projects. The sector’s maturity is evidenced by record-breaking investment activity, with over $424 million raised across 23 deals, positioning Istanbul as a top-tier global city for gaming capital. This financial influx supports a robust ecosystem of nearly 6,000 publishers and a growing network of entrepreneurship centers and academic programs. While the number of new startups declined by 48% compared to the previous year, the remaining entities are increasingly focused on long-term viability through technological integration, including AI and gamification, as well as a professionalized esports infrastructure that saw the Turkish Esports Federation gain official status. Geographically and demographically, the market remains highly engaged, with 44 million players and a notable shift toward high-income consumer segments. While traditional physical venues like internet cafes have contracted due to rising operational costs, the digital infrastructure remains strong, supported by widespread social media penetration and a sophisticated network of payment institutions. Moving forward, the industry’s trajectory is defined by a need for better alignment between academic curricula and commercial requirements, alongside a continued focus on global expansion and the development of specialized talent to maintain Türkiye’s competitive edge in the international gaming arena.

market-analysis marketing advertising+2

Riot GamesJan 2022

Report

2022 App Marketer Survey

The survey of more than five hundred mobile marketers worldwide in 2022 reveals a mixed outlook for the industry. Roughly sixty percent of respondents view the past year positively, while forty percent see it as a decline; non‑gaming marketers are notably more optimistic. Despite this, 59 % of participants have set higher key performance indicators than in 2021, yet nearly half (48 %) report difficulty meeting those targets. Over half of the cohort plans to increase advertising spend in 2023, reflecting a continued belief that growth is achievable despite challenges. Privacy regulations remain the dominant obstacle. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) rollout has disrupted user‑acquisition campaigns, with 64 % of marketers reporting a negative impact and only 12 % noting benefits. Data loss has left 73 % feeling “left in the dark,” while costs have risen for 72 %. In response, marketers are reallocating budgets toward less trackable channels such as organic/viral (68 %) and influencer marketing (57 %). However, 70 % feel unprepared for Google’s forthcoming GAID deprecation and only 47 % are familiar with SKAdNetwork 4, indicating a significant knowledge gap that could spur innovation in alternative acquisition tactics. Liftoff’s mobile growth acceleration platform, serving 6,600 businesses across 74 countries in gaming, social, finance, e‑commerce, and entertainment sectors, offers a comprehensive suite of solutions—Accelerate, Direct, Influence, Monetize, Intelligence, and Vungle Exchange—to help clients acquire high‑value users, access premium inventory, run creator campaigns, optimize in‑app ads, and leverage data analytics. These services aim to drive revenue growth and app engagement for a diverse global client base, positioning Liftoff as a key partner amid the evolving privacy landscape.

market-analysis user-acquisition marketing+3

LiftoffJan 2022

Whitepaper

2022 Global White Paper on Mobile Advertising & Marketing Game

The global mobile market in the first half of 2022 underwent a significant transition, characterized by a contraction in total advertising volume alongside a strategic pivot toward high-quality, video-centric content. While the total number of advertisers and ad creatives declined year-over-year, emerging markets in the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia experienced robust growth. This period saw a sharp rise in advertising costs, with the average CPM reaching $19.31 and the United States and South Korea emerging as the most expensive regions for user acquisition. Casual and puzzle games dominated the advertising landscape by volume, yet RPGs and strategy titles commanded the highest revenue and advertising spend. A notable trend involved mid-core developers utilizing "lightweight" or drama-based video creatives to lower entry barriers for broader audiences. Video formats now constitute over 86% of all creatives, with interactive AR filters and short-form content on platforms like Snapchat and TikTok challenging the traditional dominance of Meta. In the non-gaming sector, shopping and finance apps led in advertiser activity, while reading apps produced the highest volume of individual creatives. The industry faced headwinds from Apple’s IDFA privacy changes, prompting a shift toward "motivation-based" creative strategies and localized global launches, particularly by Chinese firms seeking relief from domestic regulatory pressures. Despite rising costs and a 27% drop in creative volume, the market remains dynamic, driven by the expansion of esports, cross-platform play, and a growing consumer interest in the metaverse. Success is increasingly defined by down-funnel conversion optimization and the use of immersive, emotionally resonant storytelling to engage diverse global demographics.

advertising marketing market-analysis+2

SocialPetaJan 2022

Report

Ad Intelligence: An Overview 2022

Analysis of mobile advertising intelligence from 2022 reveals a rapidly expanding market, with the number of advertisers doubling since 2019 to exceed 120,000. Data collected from 35 countries across the Apptica platform indicates a significant platform disparity, as Android accounts for 71% of advertisers and over 80% of the 14.6 million total creatives tracked during the period. While Android publishers outnumber those on iOS by a factor of two, the gaming sector remains the dominant force on both platforms, capturing 69.02% of advertising traffic on the App Store and 55.58% on Google Play. The gaming landscape is primarily led by the Casual and Puzzle genres. Casual games represent the largest traffic share on iOS at 23.8%, while Puzzles lead on Android at 25.4%. Beyond gaming, the Shopping and Social categories emerge as the other primary drivers of high-volume traffic. Top individual advertisers by traffic share include Meta Platforms, Playrix, and TikTok, while NewsBreak and ITI Inc. lead in the sheer volume of unique creatives. Methodological findings highlight distinct creative strategies between operating systems. On iOS, video is the preferred format, accounting for 59.9% of creatives. Conversely, Android relies more heavily on static images, which make up 58.8% of its ad inventory. Interactive or playable ads remain a niche but consistent segment, representing less than 3% of the total share on both platforms. The data suggests that publishers are significantly more aggressive with creative testing on Android, often running between 2 and 124 times more creative variations than they do on iOS. Playrix, Easybrain, and Tripledot Studios are identified as the most consistent market leaders, appearing in the top ten for buying share across both ecosystems.

advertising market-analysis global+1

AppticaJan 2022

Report

2022 The Israeli Mobile Game Market Report

The Israeli mobile gaming sector has solidified its position as a premier global hub, characterized by a robust ecosystem of approximately 200 companies and 14,000 employees. Generating $9 billion in annual revenue, the industry has experienced extraordinary growth, with total earnings increasing by 760% since 2016. This expansion, accelerated by pandemic-era shifts in consumer behavior, is anchored by major developers such as Playtika, Plarium, and Moon Active, who maintain a strategic focus on the social, casual, and hyper-casual genres. Despite this financial success, the advertising landscape underwent significant volatility in 2022. Total ad creatives declined by 17.8% year-over-year, even as the number of active advertisers grew by 4.2%. This contraction was most pronounced within the RPG segment, while casual and puzzle titles maintained dominance. A pivotal shift in platform strategy has emerged, with Android now capturing 70% of all mobile game advertising, a trend largely attributed to Apple’s IDFA privacy changes. Video content remains the industry standard, accounting for over 86% of all creative output. Global marketing strategies have become increasingly localized to meet regional preferences, ranging from live-action influencer content in the United States to character-centric assets in Japan and high-fidelity technology showcases in South Korea. Furthermore, creative trends are evolving away from traditional failure-based hyper-casual tropes toward more positive, success-oriented gameplay. While the Israeli market continues to demonstrate immense scale and innovation, the industry faces ongoing structural challenges, specifically regarding the availability of venture funding and the persistent shortage of skilled human resources required to sustain long-term growth.

market-analysis mobile marketing+2

SocialPetaJan 2022

Report

Ad Monetization Insights for Mobile Game Developers 2022

The 2022 ad monetization briefing delivers a data‑driven overview of revenue‑generation strategies for mobile game developers, emphasizing measurement, optimization, and regional performance trends. Core insights reveal that ad‑based income accounts for a majority share of total monetization, with a highlighted 54 % figure indicating the proportion of revenue derived from advertising across the surveyed markets. The analysis spotlights key territories—Germany, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Indonesia—illustrating how each region contributes to overall earnings and how localized user acquisition (UA) campaigns influence cost structures and return on ad spend. A central theme is the importance of precise analytics to drive return on investment (ROI), return on ad spend (ROAS), and lifetime value (LTV) calculations. The briefing outlines a suite of measurement tools that aggregate ad revenue, in‑app purchase (IAP) data, and cost metrics, integrating SKAdNetwork reporting for iOS environments and offering flexible data‑warehousing solutions. These capabilities enable developers to assess campaign performance at scale, compare cost aggregation across organic and paid acquisition channels, and refine budgeting decisions based on real‑time insights. Tenjin’s platform is positioned as a turnkey solution for developers seeking to embed advanced measurement modules without upfront cost, operating on a free‑to‑start, pay‑as‑you‑grow pricing model. The service package includes advertising measurement, cost aggregation, and data‑warehousing, designed to support both emerging studios and larger publishers in optimizing ad revenue streams. While specific methodological details such as sample size or data sources are not disclosed, the briefing draws on 2022 market data to inform best‑practice recommendations for maximizing monetization efficiency across the highlighted global regions.

monetization advertising global+1

TenjinJan 2022

Report

For the Game

The global gaming industry is undergoing a transformative shift into a primary mass medium, projected to reach 3.5 billion players and $225 billion in revenue by 2025. This evolution is characterized by gaming’s role as a central pillar of culture and social connection, with over a third of players utilizing the medium specifically for socialization. Analysis across 21 global markets reveals that gamers are highly engaged "super-consumers" who spend nearly 60 hours a week across television and internet platforms, making them a critical demographic for brand attention. To effectively reach this audience, the industry must move beyond traditional demographic stereotypes and adopt a motivation-based segmentation. This approach identifies six distinct player types, allowing for more authentic engagement. However, a significant gap remains between the diverse player base and the industry’s internal demographics, which remain predominantly male and white. Prioritizing equity, inclusion, and accessibility is essential for future growth, as evidenced by the commercial success of titles that prioritize inclusive design and representation. Successful brand integration requires a departure from standard advertising in favor of intrinsic in-game experiences and value-driven partnerships. Strategies such as gamified commerce, immersive virtual events, and the utilization of original intellectual property yield higher attention and recall rates than traditional social media formats. By fostering mutually beneficial relationships and respecting established gaming codes, brands can leverage the medium not just for visibility, but as a sophisticated tool for long-term community building and commercial innovation.

market-analysis player-demographics marketing+2

dentsuJan 2022

Report

Mobile Ad Creative Index: 2022

The 2022 Mobile Ad Creative Index analyzes performance trends and benchmarks across four major mobile app verticals: gaming, e-commerce, entertainment, and finance. The report focuses on the strategic importance of ad creative excellence in a privacy-first landscape following Apple’s IDFA changes. It evaluates five primary ad formats—banners, interstitials, playables, native, and video—across both iOS and Android platforms. The findings are based on a massive dataset spanning January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022, encompassing 805 billion impressions, 12.6 billion clicks, and 200 million installs. Data points indicate that while Android remains more cost-effective, with iOS costs often doubling those of Android for the same formats, specific creative types offer distinct advantages. In gaming, playable ads provide the lowest cost-per-install (CPI) at $1.98, though banner ads deliver the highest return on ad spend (ROAS), reaching nearly 22% by day 30. In the e-commerce and finance sectors, banner ads emerge as the most value-driven format, offering the lowest CPIs and high install-to-action rates. A significant portion of the analysis, supported by GameRefinery and VisualMind technology, examines player motivations. Despite the potential of tailoring creative to specific psychological drivers like "thinking and solving" or "excitement and thrill," the data reveals a massive gap in execution: only 4% of casual game video ads and less than 1% of midcore ads successfully tap into these motivations. The conclusion emphasizes that future performance marketing success depends on "hyper-localization," interactive elements like gamification for non-gaming brands, and iterative creative testing to combat ad fatigue.

advertising in-game-advertising user-acquisition+2

LiftoffJan 2022

Whitepaper

Global White Paper on Mobile Advertising & Marketing Game H1 2022

The first half of 2022 saw a contraction across the mobile‑app advertising ecosystem, with the total number of advertisers falling 5.79 % to a historic low of roughly 83 400 and creative volume dropping 27 % to 40 million assets. This downward pressure was most pronounced among mobile‑game advertisers, whose pool shrank to about 83 000 in January, while non‑game categories such as shopping apps retained the largest share of spend (≈12.5 % of advertisers and 17.2 % of creatives). Regional variation was stark: Europe and North America dominated non‑game advertising, whereas the Asia‑Pacific region, excluding China, was the only market with a net increase in advertisers. Mobile‑game advertising displayed divergent cost dynamics. The United States and Japan posted the highest average CPMs at $27.54 and $25.93 respectively, with iOS campaigns costing roughly 15 % more than Android. Female users and the 55‑64 age cohort commanded a 13 % premium on impressions, while South Korea recorded the peak CPI at $13.90. Playable ads delivered the lowest CPI but suffered the weakest return on ad spend, whereas banner formats generated the strongest ROAS. Strategy titles leaned heavily on video‑only creatives (>90 %) and began integrating casual‑puzzle mechanics to broaden appeal; interest in emerging formats remained modest, with only 16 % of players expressing curiosity about NFTs and 32 % about metaverse features. Creative strategies are shifting toward motivation‑driven, user‑centric formats such as rewarded video and playable ads to counter post‑IDFA fragmentation. Narrative‑driven ads are proving effective for simulation games targeting female audiences, delivering $12 million in revenue across key Western markets. AR‑enhanced placements on platforms like Snapchat achieve double the attention and 1.7 × the immersion of standard formats, while friend‑based recommendations outperform celebrity influencers by a factor of four. Regional opportunities are emerging in Tier‑2/3 India through vernacular campaigns and OEM inventory, and Turkey’s

marketing advertising in-game-advertising+2

SocialPetaJan 2022

Report

The Hyper-Casual Benchmark Report: Q3 2022

The hyper-casual mobile gaming sector experienced a notable escalation in acquisition costs during the latter half of 2022, characterized by rising median cost-per-install (CPI) rates across both Android and iOS platforms. By the fourth quarter of 2022, median CPI reached all-time highs of $0.20 on Android and $0.42 on iOS. This upward trend in acquisition spending was global, as no major market tracked by ad spend experienced a decrease in median CPI on Android, while iOS markets saw varied fluctuations, including a significant decrease in the United States and notable increases in France and Germany. Retention metrics reveal a consistent performance advantage for iOS over Android across all tiers of game quality. For the top 2% of hyper-casual titles, iOS achieved a 45% Day 1 retention rate compared to 38% on Android, with Day 7 retention figures similarly favoring iOS at 19% versus 14%. This performance gap persists among the top 25% of games and the median cohort, where iOS maintains a higher percentage of returning players. These findings underscore a widening disparity between high-performing titles and average games, emphasizing the critical importance of engagement optimization in a landscape of increasing user acquisition costs. The analysis draws upon data from over 100,000 games and one-third of the global mobile player base to establish these benchmarks. By segmenting performance by platform and geographic region, the data highlights the shifting economic landscape for developers and publishers. The findings suggest that while market saturation and rising costs present significant challenges, the ability to maintain player retention remains the primary differentiator between top-tier hyper-casual games and the broader market.

market-analysis monetization user-acquisition+5

TenjinJan 2022

Whitepaper

2022 Global White Paper on Mobile Advertising & Marketing

The 2022 global mobile gaming landscape underwent a significant transition toward quality and strategic refinement, characterized by a 2% decline in total advertisers and a 27.83% reduction in ad creatives during the first half of the year. This contraction in mature markets was offset by robust growth in emerging regions such as the Middle East, South America, and South Asia, where increasing smartphone penetration and young demographics present substantial expansion opportunities. The industry’s primary thesis centers on the necessity of localized, narrative-driven content and creative optimization to navigate a post-IDFA privacy environment that has increased advertising costs and shifted focus toward Android platforms. While casual, puzzle, and simulation genres dominate download volumes, RPGs and strategy titles remain the primary revenue drivers, commanding the highest advertising costs with average CPMs reaching $21.58. Video remains the dominant creative format, accounting for over 86% of all advertisements, as marketers increasingly leverage dramatic storytelling and influencer-led content to boost engagement. Despite the industry’s fascination with emerging technologies, consumer sentiment remains grounded; only 16% of players express interest in NFT-based gaming, whereas up to 39% show interest in metaverse-integrated experiences. Most users continue to prioritize mobile games as accessible tools for relaxation and time-killing. To sustain growth, publishers are pivoting toward programmatic channels, OEM integrations, and culturally relevant marketing strategies. Success in this competitive landscape requires a dual approach: maintaining high-frequency engagement through playable and video-based ads while simultaneously adapting to regional preferences, such as the demand for vernacular content in India or MOBA-focused titles in Southeast Asia. Ultimately, the market is moving away from broad-spectrum advertising toward highly targeted, immersive, and quality-focused campaigns that align with the core motivations of diverse global player bases.

market-analysis mobile marketing+3

SocialPetaJan 2022

Report

The State of Mobile Game and App Markets: H1 2022

The mobile app and gaming landscape underwent a significant strategic pivot during the first half of 2022, characterized by a transition from high-volume advertising to a quality-focused, data-driven methodology. Faced with rising user acquisition costs and the restrictive post-ATT environment, marketers reduced the total volume of mobile game creatives by nearly 30% year-over-year. This contraction reflects a broader industry shift toward precise traffic optimization, where performance metrics like Cost Per Purchase and In-App Purchase Return on Ad Spend have superseded raw install volume as the primary indicators of success. Geographically, the United States remains the dominant market, commanding the highest share of traffic and the most expensive advertising costs. CPMs surged significantly during this period, rising 18% for mobile games and 64% for non-gaming applications. In response to these economic headwinds and privacy-related tracking limitations, advertisers have increasingly pivoted toward the Android ecosystem, which now hosts approximately 70% of mobile game creatives. Simultaneously, growth is being sought in emerging Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets to offset the saturation and high costs found in traditional Western strongholds. To maintain performance, publishers are diversifying their acquisition channels, moving beyond traditional social media giants to include incentive-based traffic sources and search-driven discovery. App Store Optimization and Apple Search Ads have become critical components of visibility strategies, while the adoption of predictive analytics and first-party data collection allows developers to navigate the loss of IDFA-based targeting. By prioritizing user-generated content styles and optimizing opt-in prompts, which have reached success rates as high as 51% in certain hyper-casual segments, the industry is successfully recalibrating its approach to sustain long-term growth despite a challenging macroeconomic climate.

market-analysis mobile marketing+3

AdQuantumJan 2022

Report

App Marketer Survey

The global app marketing landscape is currently defined by a paradox of rising performance expectations and diminishing data visibility. While nearly 60% of marketing professionals face more aggressive key performance indicators than in previous years, approximately half are struggling to meet these targets. This friction is primarily driven by the implementation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework, which has negatively impacted 64% of user acquisition campaigns. The resulting data scarcity has complicated decision-making for 73% of marketers and led to increased costs for 72% of respondents, forcing a heavy daily focus on manual campaign analysis to compensate for the loss of granular tracking. In response to these privacy-centric shifts, the industry is undergoing a strategic pivot toward diversification and alternative platforms. Marketers are increasingly reallocating budgets toward Android and exploring less trackable channels, with over half of professionals prioritizing influencer marketing and organic social media. Despite the challenges posed by rising costs and low familiarity with upcoming privacy updates like SKAN 4 and the deprecation of Google Advertising ID, the outlook for the sector remains growth-oriented. Fifty-two percent of marketers intend to increase their advertising spend in 2023, focusing on expanding their network of partners to navigate the post-ATT environment. This transition is supported by a global infrastructure of programmatic user acquisition and monetization tools designed to scale revenue across sectors such as gaming, finance, and e-commerce. By leveraging creator-led campaigns and advanced game data analytics, businesses across 74 countries are attempting to offset the limitations of the current privacy era. The overarching trend indicates that while privacy regulations have fundamentally disrupted traditional acquisition models, the industry is responding through increased investment and a broader, multi-channel approach to mobile growth.

market-analysis marketing advertising+1

LiftoffJan 2022