In-Game Advertising reports and market data
Documents
Mobile Game Video Ads Analysis: Optimal Video Lengths and End Cards
This analysis examines the relationship between video ad length, end card formats, and campaign performance across five major mobile gaming genres: Hyper-Casual, RPG, Strategy, Puzzle, and Social Casino.
- Optimal video ad length varies significantly by genre, ranging from 10 seconds for Social Casino to 46 seconds for RPGs.
- Hyper-Casual games achieve peak performance with 37-second ads paired with video end cards.
- Strategy games perform best with 33-second ads, while Puzzle games reach peak efficacy at 22 seconds; both benefit most from app store end cards.
The New Rules Of In-Game Advertising with AdInMo | PocketGamer.biz RoundTable
The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental transition in monetization strategy, moving away from interruptive, click-based advertising toward immersive, native brand experiences.
- Mobile gaming monetization is shifting from interruptive, click-based advertising to immersive, native brand experiences to protect player retention.
- Privacy changes, specifically IDFA deprecation, have reduced the efficacy of traditional hyper-targeted ad models, forcing a move toward privacy-compliant strategies.
- Developers are now integrating native ad units—such as billboards and posters—early in the production process to ensure they feel authentic to the game environment.
Panel: Alternative ways to Monetise Your Games
Modern game monetization is undergoing a fundamental shift away from traditional, intrusive display advertising toward models rooted in player motivation, aspiration, and long-term engagement.
- Sustainable monetization now requires a multi-faceted approach that integrates in-app purchases, battle passes, and subscriptions alongside non-invasive ad formats.
- The industry is shifting away from intrusive display advertising toward models based on player motivation, such as competitive ambition, social interaction, and time management.
- Repeat usage is the primary key performance indicator for assessing long-term game health, superseding short-term revenue gains.
Panel: Have we Reached the End of Innovation with Hybrid Monetisation?
Hybrid monetization represents a strategic evolution in mobile gaming, shifting away from reliance on high-spending whales toward a balanced ecosystem that integrates in-app purchases, subscriptions, and diverse advertising formats.
- Hybrid monetization shifts mobile gaming strategy from whale-dependency to a balanced ecosystem of in-app purchases, subscriptions, and diverse ad formats to maximize total player lifetime value.
- Rewarded video ads should be positioned as high-utility consumables to improve player retention and serve as a gateway for non-paying users to eventually transition into spenders.
- Developers must treat ad revenue as a ring-fenced component of the game economy to prevent the cannibalization of in-app purchase revenue.
Speed Panel: The Death of IDFA & Cookies - Your Monetisation is at Risk
The deprecation of IDFA and third-party cookies necessitates a fundamental shift in mobile gaming monetization, moving away from intrusive, data-heavy targeting toward privacy-compliant, authentic advertising models.
- The deprecation of IDFA and third-party cookies requires a shift from intrusive, data-heavy targeting toward privacy-compliant, game-centric advertising models.
- Intrinsic advertising, such as placing ads on in-game billboards, allows developers to monetize the entire player base rather than relying solely on a small cohort of spenders.
- Successful intrinsic advertising depends on contextual alignment, where ad content must resonate with the game's setting and audience to maintain brand value.
Curated Panel: How to Maximise ARPDAU With a Hybrid Approach
The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental shift toward hybrid monetization models, which integrate in-app purchases with in-app advertising to stabilize and maximize average revenue per daily active user.
- Hybrid monetization models that integrate in-app purchases with rewarded video are stabilizing revenue, with many studios achieving an even 50/50 split between ad-driven and purchase-driven income.
- Publishers are transitioning from manual waterfall management to automated in-app bidding to eliminate labor-intensive line-item adjustments and improve operational efficiency.
- Automated bidding platforms allow development teams to reallocate resources from ad operations toward user acquisition and core product innovation.
Superstar Session: How to Maximise the Game Economy With Ad Monetisation
The presentation explores strategies for maximizing game economies through ad monetization, emphasizing the necessity of data-driven decision-making in an evolving mobile landscape.
- Publishers must integrate first-party performance data with third-party market intelligence, such as App Annie’s Game IQ, to normalize metrics across user acquisition, mediation, and in-app purchase platforms.
- Monetization models should be dynamic rather than static, transitioning between ad-heavy, hybrid, or subscription systems based on specific user maturity levels and geographic performance trends.
- Strategic ad integration—when managed for frequency and timing—does not degrade retention and can function as a tool for delayed gratification by offering rewards for future gameplay sessions.
Speed Panel: Monetisation With In-app Bidding
This panel discussion from the September 2020 Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital event explores the transition from traditional waterfall-based ad mediation to hybrid in-app bidding models.
- Adopting a hybrid in-app bidding model typically yields a 5% to 25% increase in revenue by improving fill rates and reducing latency.
- Transitioning from traditional waterfall-based mediation to hybrid bidding significantly reduces the operational burden of managing thousands of manual line items.
- Modern mediation platforms now facilitate easier A/B testing, enabling developers to make data-driven decisions regarding network performance and waterfall optimization.
Panel: New Ad Formats - The Next Generation
The modern gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental shift toward non-intrusive, context-aware monetization strategies that prioritize player retention alongside revenue generation.
- The gaming industry is shifting from disruptive interstitial ads to non-intrusive, context-aware formats like rewarded videos, audio ads, and dynamic in-game product placements to prioritize player retention.
- The deprecation of traditional tracking identifiers like IDFA has forced a transition toward privacy-compliant, contextual advertising models that do not rely on deep individual behavioral tracking.
- Developers are utilizing cross-platform SDKs for Unity and Unreal to maintain consistent monetization strategies across mobile, PC, and web environments.
Fireside Chat: What do Game Developers Really Think About Monetisation?
The modern game development landscape is undergoing a significant shift toward monetization strategies that prioritize player retention and immersion over traditional, disruptive advertising.
- Approximately 75% of game developers now prioritize non-intrusive monetization strategies, such as ambient in-game placements, over disruptive advertising models.
- Gamers are three times more likely to prefer native, integrated advertising formats compared to conventional, disruptive ad breaks.
- Developers are increasingly demanding greater control and transparency over displayed ad content to protect brand integrity and prevent the promotion of direct competitors.
Monetise, not Bastardise
The primary objective of this presentation is to introduce audio advertising as a non-intrusive, high-value monetization alternative for mobile game developers.
- Audio advertising provides a high-value monetization alternative with CPMs ranging from $2 to $30, significantly outperforming traditional banner ads.
- The audio advertising sector is experiencing 23% annual growth, supported by an $18 billion total addressable market and $3 billion in traded demand.
- Consumer sentiment data from YouGov shows that 86% of UK mobile gamers dislike video ads, while 28% express a specific preference for audio-based formats.
Superstar Session: How to Maximise the Game Economy With Ad Monetisation
The mobile gaming industry experienced significant growth during the first half of 2020, largely accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Mobile gaming is the industry's dominant sector, projected to exceed $100 billion in consumer spend in 2020 and generating 1.5 times the revenue of PC, Mac, and console platforms combined.
- The mobile advertising market is projected to reach $240 billion in 2020, with 93% of the top 500 games on Google Play now utilizing in-app advertising.
- Rewarded video ads are highly effective, with nearly 23% of all mobile gamers and 40% of hardcore gamers expressing a preference for this monetization format.