Monetization reports and market data
2,306 documents·108 writers·10,483 charts and tables
Documents
Two & a Half Gamers52 min
Google CMP update, Google Ad transparency, Tiktok AI script generator, Game review radar (#71)
Mobile game publishers operating in the European Union and the United Kingdom face a critical regulatory shift as Google mandates the integration of certified Consent Management Platforms for all AdSense, Ad Manager, and AdMob users by the end of the year.
- Mobile publishers in the EU and UK must integrate a Google-certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) for AdMob, AdSense, and Ad Manager by the end of the year or face a total cessation of ad revenue in those regions.
- Whiteout Survival achieved $18 million in monthly revenue by utilizing a deceptive onboarding funnel that transitions players from casual simulation mechanics into complex 4X gameplay.
- Google’s new Ads Transparency Center now allows users to search verified advertiser content, though it currently lacks the advanced filtering and usability features found in the Facebook Ad Library.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers52 min
Diablo IV special: Gameplay & game design review, Pay for comfort, Path Of Exile comparison
Diablo IV functions as a hybrid experiment, blending the intricate mechanical depth of traditional action role-playing games with the expansive, social structure of a modern massively multiplayer online title.
- Diablo IV faces a potential player retention challenge with its seasonal model, which requires players to restart from level one every three months, a system that may frustrate users who have invested significant time in their characters.
- The game currently lacks deep end-game mechanics, with most content consumable within approximately 100 hours, creating a potential engagement gap for hardcore ARPG players compared to competitors like Path of Exile.
- Diablo IV's current monetization relies heavily on cosmetics, but the game may eventually shift toward 'pay for comfort' models—similar to Path of Exile’s premium inventory tabs—to drive higher long-term revenue.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers64 min
From hypercasual to hybridcasual - The Voodoo story (#70)
The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a structural shift as companies move away from traditional hypercasual models toward hybridcasual frameworks.
- Voodoo has shifted its business model from hypercasual to hybridcasual, reducing its output to approximately four game launches per year to focus on longer-term retention and monetization.
- The hybridcasual strategy involves adding meta-game layers, such as base building, unit upgrades, and gacha-style progression, to simple core gameplay loops to increase player lifetime value.
- Mob Control serves as a primary example of this transition, evolving from a simple hypercasual mechanic inspired by Fireballs 3D into a deeper game with a metagame that contributes significantly to its revenue.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers50 min
Creatives end cards arms-race, why is soft launching in US a terrible idea? Night crows review (#69)
The mobile gaming industry is currently grappling with an escalation in aggressive advertising tactics, specifically regarding rewarded ad end cards.
- Aggressive rewarded ad end cards, including 45-second durations and deceptive design patterns, are actively degrading player retention and brand sentiment.
- Publishers should prioritize long-term player health over short-term click-through metrics by using negative user feedback to demand more equitable ad formats from network partners.
- Soft-launching in the U.S. is often misguided due to high acquisition costs and intense competition that obscure accurate performance data.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers55 min
Top5 mobile gaming launches special: GameMakers x 2.5 gamers live crossover
The mobile gaming landscape is currently defined by a shift toward high-production value, cross-platform experiences and increasingly sophisticated, hybrid monetization models.
- Hybrid monetization is now a primary driver of financial stability, as evidenced by Survivor.io generating nearly $470 million through a balanced 50/50 split between in-app purchases and ad-based revenue.
- Successful user acquisition has shifted from individual game performance to portfolio-wide ecosystem management, where developers use high-retention titles like Frozen City to funnel users into more complex 4X games to lower acquisition costs.
- High-production, cross-platform titles like Honkai: Star Rail prove that massive live-ops budgets and multi-platform accessibility are essential for capturing and retaining global audiences in the current market.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers47 min
Supercell's Floodrush: First look! UA, Admon & game design review & Squad Busters comparison (#68)
Floodrush represents a strategic pivot for Supercell, functioning as a PVP-focused battle royale that emphasizes aggressive engagement through a sinking island mechanic.
- Floodrush is a PVP-focused battle royale that differentiates itself from Squad Busters by prioritizing aggressive combat and rewarding player eliminations with energy and elixir resources.
- The game features a portrait-mode, tap-to-move control scheme and displays numerical power levels above characters to facilitate real-time tactical decision-making.
- Supercell is currently running paid user acquisition campaigns via Google Ads for the title, despite the game lacking established franchise intellectual property.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers56 min
Boost your UA with channel diversification & high performing creative frameworks w/ Mistplay (#67)
Loyalty-driven engagement serves as a primary engine for sustainable user acquisition and long-term lifetime value in the mobile gaming sector.
- Mistplay operates as a performance-driven loyalty app with a team of approximately 200 people, leveraging data analytics as the central stakeholder for all product, sales, and commercial decision-making.
- Effective creative testing requires a high volume of output, with the team aiming to test 10 to 14 new creatives per week, totaling 40 to 50 per month to combat creative fatigue.
- When evaluating new UA partners or testing campaigns, the team typically allocates a 1 to 2-month window to move through learning, optimization, and scaling phases.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers61 min
Squad Busters: First look! MOBA or hybrid casual? New Supercell game in Soft launch. (#66)
Squad Busters represents a strategic pivot for Supercell, functioning as a hybrid title that blends battle royale mechanics with casual progression.
- Squad Busters functions as a simplified Battle Royale where players farm monsters and resources to grow their army, incorporating a 'snowball effect' mechanic similar to .io games.
- Supercell has introduced 'battle modes' with rotating map modifiers to address player feedback regarding repetitive gameplay, a strategy similar to the shifting location mechanics found in Marvel Snap.
- The game features a scripted progression system where character unlocks and resource rewards are largely determined by level milestones rather than traditional progression paths seen in other Supercell titles.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers57 min
Triple Tile vs. Triple Match 3D showdown! In-depth UA, creatives, Admon, Game design review (#65)
The tile-matching puzzle genre has evolved into a highly lucrative sector defined by two distinct monetization philosophies: pure ad-driven revenue and hybrid in-app purchase models.
- Triple Match 3D generates approximately $14 million in monthly revenue, significantly outperforming the original Triple Tile, which has seen its revenue decline from a $7 million monthly peak in early 2022 to roughly $2.5 million.
- Triple Tile exhibits a distinct platform split with 87% of its downloads and revenue originating from Android, whereas Triple Match 3D maintains a 60% iOS and 40% Android revenue distribution.
- Triple Tile demonstrates strong early retention with 50% Day 1 retention on Google Play, though it tapers to 24% by Day 7 and 10% by Day 30.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers59 min
Creative trends Q1 2023, Mobile games Soft launch Sonar, Meta enhanced interaction in admon (#64)
The mobile gaming landscape in early 2023 is defined by a strategic pivot toward risk mitigation, characterized by reliance on established intellectual property and aggressive, often deceptive, creative advertising tactics.
- To combat rising user acquisition costs, mobile studios are increasingly utilizing high-production influencer partnerships and narrative-driven ads that often feature altered or deceptive gameplay.
- Publishers are shifting toward risk-averse product strategies, favoring long-term soft launches for hybrid genres and franchise-based titles over high-risk innovation.
- The industry-wide transition to full bidding, specifically within AdMob, requires publishers to diversify ad stacks to protect eCPMs and maintain portfolio health.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers52 min
Admon smoky backroom, Midcore UA step up with Viva La Dirt League, Honkai: Star Rail Review (#63)
AdMob is mandating a transition to real-time bidding auctions by October 31, 2023, effectively ending the practice of manual placement refreshing.
- AdMob will mandate a transition to real-time bidding auctions by October 31, 2023, effectively ending manual placement refreshing and forcing publishers to adopt automated, mediation-driven monetization.
- The mediation market is consolidating into a duopoly between Google and major third-party platforms like AppLovin Max and ironSource, requiring developers to focus on inventory efficiency rather than legacy optimization hacks.
- Honkai: Star Rail generated over $40 million in its first week with 20 million pre-registrations, demonstrating that high-production, console-quality mobile experiences are driving significant market returns.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024
Two & a Half Gamers59 min
Call of Dragons review - 4X strategy games deep dive, User acquisition & Game design breakdown (#62)
Call of Dragons represents a sophisticated evolution within the 4X strategy genre, successfully positioning itself as a high-production-value successor to established titles like Rise of Kingdoms.
- Call of Dragons generates approximately $14 million to $17 million in monthly revenue, with the United States contributing roughly $5 million of that total.
- The game demonstrates strong Day 1 retention at 51%, with Day 7 retention at 17% and Day 30 retention at 4% on Google Play.
- Unlike many modern 4X competitors that utilize 'fake' gameplay ads, Call of Dragons maintains marketing integrity by featuring authentic, representative gameplay in its user acquisition creatives.
Two & a Half GamersMay 2024