Monetization reports and market data
2,305 documents·108 writers·10,483 charts and tables
Documents
PocketGamer.biz32 min
Panel: From App To Super App: Expanding Mobile Apps Beyond A Single Experience.
Mobile applications are increasingly evolving into super apps, platforms that integrate diverse services into a single ecosystem to enhance user retention and overcome distribution hurdles.
- Successful super app expansion relies on identifying 'value leakage'—tracking when users leave an app to complete a related task—and building features to capture that activity within the existing ecosystem.
- When expanding into new categories, companies should prioritize a unified brand identity, as seen with Duolingo consolidating math, music, and language learning under a single app to maintain a consistent user experience and simplify internal growth optimizations.
- To avoid internal competition and 'Lord of the Flies' style silos, organizations must establish clear, company-wide objectives where user engagement and experience take precedence over short-term monetization.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz18 min
Session: Leveling Up Loyalty: Essential Lessons From Rewarded Gaming For Loyalty Leaders.
Rewarded gaming programs serve as a powerful tool for app developers to drive user retention and incremental revenue by creating an equitable value exchange.
- The global gaming market is projected to reach $125 billion by 2025, presenting a significant opportunity for non-gaming sectors like fintech and e-commerce to leverage rewarded engagement.
- Rewarded gaming programs drive user retention and incremental revenue by establishing an equitable value exchange where users receive real-world benefits for active participation.
- Implementation should follow a phased strategy, starting with low-friction tests like simple ad units before scaling to permanent, integrated features.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz39 min
Curated Panel: How Brands & Publishers Are Navigating The New Gaming Media Landscape In 2026.
The gaming media landscape in 2026 is undergoing a fundamental transition as publishers and brands move away from a singular focus on performance-based advertising toward more sophisticated, brand-centric strategies.
- The gaming media landscape in 2026 is shifting from performance-based advertising to brand-centric strategies that prioritize user retention and revenue diversification.
- Publishers are increasingly integrating non-intrusive, custom in-game placements to keep users within their ecosystems and prevent churn to external competitors.
- Measurement is evolving beyond simple app-install KPIs to include first-party data, brand lift studies, and attention-based metrics that align with broader marketing objectives.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz41 min
Panel: The Future Of Monetisation: Is Now The Time To Take Advantage Of Direct-To-Consumer?
Direct-to-consumer monetization has emerged as a critical strategic imperative for mobile game publishers, driven by the necessity to capture higher margins amidst evolving regulatory landscapes and platform-level changes like IDFA.
- Bypassing traditional in-app payment rails through direct-to-consumer (D2C) web shops can increase net revenue by more than 20 percent.
- Once a player completes their first purchase on a web shop, subsequent conversion rates for that user can reach as high as 97 percent.
- D2C strategies are currently most prevalent in the midcore and casino genres, where web shops are used as tools for holistic player engagement rather than just payment processing.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz21 min
Fireside Chat: How Yodo1 Grew Transformers: Earth Wars Webshop Revenue Share 2.2× In Under A Year.
This discussion examines the successful implementation of a direct-to-consumer (DTC) web shop strategy for the mobile game Transformers: Earth Wars, which resulted in a 2.2-fold increase in web shop revenue share within one year.
- Yodo1 Games increased the webshop revenue share for Transformers: Earth Wars by 2.2x in under a year by shifting player spending away from in-game stores to a direct-to-consumer (DTC) web platform.
- Moving transactions to a webshop allows developers to bypass the 25-30% commission fees typically charged by Google and Apple, significantly increasing profit margins.
- To drive initial traffic and habituate users to the webshop, Yodo1 offered free gifts and lower-value conversion bundles that were not available inside the game.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz22 min
Session: The End of Global DTC: How Regulation Is Forcing Regional Player Flows - Archie Stonehill.
The global landscape for direct-to-consumer (DTC) game distribution is undergoing a significant transformation driven by a patchwork of regional regulations and legal challenges.
- The global DTC landscape is shifting from a uniform model to a fragmented, country-by-country regulatory framework that requires developers to adopt agile, region-specific distribution strategies.
- In the U.S., the dismantling of anti-steering restrictions since 2021 has enabled link-out strategies that now account for over 50% of transaction volume for some developers.
- Regulatory environments currently fall into three archetypes: traditional (restrictive), open steering (U.S.-style, allowing tax-free web checkouts), and taxed/mixed (EU-style, which often includes new fees or UX limitations).
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz18 min
Session: D2C Monetisation: A Cost-Saving Shift Or Something More? - Liam Wiltshire, Tebex
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) monetization in the gaming industry has evolved from a simple cost-saving measure into a strategic necessity for long-term growth.
- D2C monetization is shifting from a platform-fee avoidance strategy to a core growth engine focused on enhancing player lifetime value (LTV) and direct engagement.
- In many global regions, up to 70% of transactions are conducted via local wallets or alternative payment methods rather than traditional credit cards, necessitating localized payment strategies.
- Successful D2C implementation requires treating payments as a specialized product function to manage the complexities of global tax compliance, fraud detection, and chargeback mitigation.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz19 min
Fireside Chat: Money Talks - Listening To Buyer Signals - Adam Smart & Edik Mitelman, AppsFlyer.
The data collaboration platform SignalHub, developed by AppsFlyer, enables gaming companies to leverage real-world consumer spending data for highly targeted user acquisition.
- AppsFlyer’s Signal Hub platform allows game studios to build custom user acquisition audiences based on real-world consumer spending data from partners like Mastercard, Factures, and Equifax.
- The platform enables targeting based on specific merchant transactions, product SKUs, spending ranges, and socioeconomic status, allowing studios to reach users with high propensities for in-app purchases.
- Data is processed through a privacy-compliant, hashed, and encrypted environment where no raw data is downloadable or shared, meeting strict audit requirements from major financial institutions.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz19 min
Session: You Grew D2c In 2025. Now What? How To Level Up D2c In 2026 Chip Thurston, FastSpring.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) revenue has evolved from a nascent strategy into a critical pillar of gaming monetization.
- The D2C landscape is maturing rapidly, with 57% of publishers currently operating a web store and 96% of those without one planning to launch one.
- Recent regulatory shifts have accelerated investment, as 95% of existing web store operators have increased their capital allocation toward these channels following landmark Epic versus Apple and Epic versus Google rulings.
- The era of 'fee-free' steering is ending, with new legislation like Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act likely to introduce platform fees on linked payments that could reach 20% or more by 2026.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz42 min
Panel: Best Practices For Navigating The Rewarded UA Space.
Rewarded user acquisition has evolved from a volume-centric strategy into a sophisticated, data-driven channel focused on long-term player loyalty.
- Rewarded user acquisition has evolved from a high-fraud, low-quality volume play into a data-driven channel that provides high-intent users who engage with games deeply to reach specific milestones.
- Unlike traditional media sources that may require up to 365 days to realize ROI, rewarded UA allows developers to recover costs and generate revenue earlier, facilitating faster reinvestment and scaling.
- Modern rewarded platforms utilize adaptive economy models and real-time automation to personalize reward structures based on individual user behavior, moving away from outdated fixed-CPI models.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz21 min
Session: How To Get To 30% DTC Revenue Share - Omer Torok-Arlosoroff, Appcharge.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue strategies have transitioned from optional experiments to mandatory components for mobile game studios.
- Direct-to-consumer (DTC) web stores are now considered a mandatory strategy for mobile game studios, with top performers achieving 30% to 40% of their total revenue share through these channels.
- Achieving three repeat purchases on a web store creates a high retention threshold, with an 84% probability that the user will continue to conduct the majority of their future transactions there.
- Web store offers should prioritize adding 15% to 25% more value to a purchase rather than offering simple discounts, as this approach is more effective at driving both first-time deposits and higher average revenue per user.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026
PocketGamer.biz21 min
Session: Rewarded UA In 2026: The Growth Playbook - Jan Sommerfeld, Almedia.
Rewarded user acquisition (UA) is evolving from a simple volume-based strategy into a sophisticated, data-driven channel that functions as a long-term loyalty program.
- Rewarded user acquisition has shifted from focusing on install volume to prioritizing long-term engagement, with platforms now extending reward windows from 30 days to 90 days and beyond to drive Day 360 performance.
- The US market for rewarded platforms has grown to an estimated 100 to 150 million users, with major players like Freecash acquiring 3 to 4 million users per month and reaching a total user base of 60 million.
- Modern rewarded platforms now utilize automated bidding systems, such as Almedia's 'Max ROAS,' which allow advertisers to define return-on-ad-spend targets rather than manually managing individual CPIs.
PocketGamer.bizFeb 2026