The Intrinsic In-Game Advertising Key Trends Report H1 2025
Intrinsic in-game advertising (IIGA) has transitioned into a measurable, high-impact media channel that allows brands to reach premium gaming environments through buying approaches similar to traditional digital and broadcast media. The primary thesis of this analysis is that gaming offers a unique, year-round engagement opportunity that remains consistent even when traditional channels like television and social media experience seasonal dips. By integrating non-disruptive, native ads into gameplay, advertisers can achieve significant full-funnel impact, including a 20-point lift in ad recall and a 21% lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to standard goals.
The findings are based on aggregated internal data from 105 games and 333 direct advertisers, supplemented by third-party research from partners such as IAS, Lumen, and Comscore. The scope is global, with specific insights covering North America, Europe, LATAM, and APAC throughout the 2024 calendar year. While mobile currently offers 25 times the scale of impressions and greater audience diversity, PC and console platforms provide superior immersion, with significantly longer session lengths and higher total playtime per user.
Key data points highlight that IIGA outperforms traditional digital formats in attention, delivering 2,957 attentive seconds per thousand impressions—nearly triple the performance of Facebook Infeed. Regional trends indicate that while North America and Europe command the highest CPMs, emerging markets like APAC and LATAM offer cost-effective growth opportunities. Furthermore, genre-specific data reveals that sports and racing titles see engagement peaks tied to real-world competitions, while simulation games offer a steady, female-skewing audience. The report concludes that advertisers should move beyond seasonal buying habits to capitalize on gaming’s "always-on" nature, particularly during Q1 when CPMs are lower but engagement remains high.
