The State of Mobile Game and App Markets: Global Report on App Marketing for H1 2022
**Document Title:** *The State of Mobile Game and App Markets: H1 2022*
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## Executive Overview
- **Market Contraction, but Not Uniform:**
- Overall mobile‑app and game ecosystem shrank – 6.2 % YoY drop in the number of advertisers and a 27 % decline in total creatives.
- The contraction was **regional**: Europe, North America, and Oceania bore the brunt, while **Tier‑2/3 markets** (especially Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) surged – advertiser counts rose **37 % YoY**.
- **Creative Strategy Shift:**
- Marketers moved away from “quantity‑over‑quality” to **higher‑quality, user‑generated‑content (UGC)‑style creatives**.
- This pivot drove a **27.8 % YoY reduction** in total mobile‑game creatives (down to **15.8 M**), while the advertiser base remained relatively stable (≈ 45.1 K).
- **Performance‑Driven Campaigns:**
- Adoption of **cost‑per‑play (CPP)** and **in‑app‑purchase‑return‑on‑ad‑spend (IAP‑ROAS)** optimization grew sharply.
- **Machine‑learning‑powered** tools—predictive analytics, automated bidding, and the new **SKAdNetwork 4.0** attribution framework for iOS—helped offset rising **cost‑per‑install (CPI)** pressures and improve early‑stage ROI measurement.
- **App‑Store Search Dominance:**
- **64.7 %** of all app installs in H1 2022 originated from **App Store search**.
- Consequently, publishers and marketers doubled‑down on **App Store Optimization (ASO)** and **Apple Search Ads**, treating search visibility as a primary acquisition channel.
- **Growth Outlook:**
- Future expansion is expected to be **driven by emerging markets** (Tier‑2/3 regions) and **increased reliance on AI/ML‑based campaign automation**.
- Continued investment in **high‑impact, UGC‑styled creatives** and **search‑centric acquisition** will be critical to sustain performance as CPI trends upward.
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## Section‑by‑Section Highlights
| Section | Core Findings |
|---------|----------------|
| **1 – Market Landscape** | • 6.2 % YoY decline in advertisers; 27 % drop in creatives.<br>• Steepest losses in Europe, NA, Oceania.<br>• 37 % YoY advertiser surge in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (Tier‑2/3).<br>• Shift to higher‑quality, UGC‑style creatives and predictive‑analytics‑driven campaigns (incl. SKAdNetwork 4.0). |
| **2 – Creative & Optimization Trends** | • 27.8 % YoY reduction in total mobile‑game creatives → 15.8 M.<br>• Advertiser count stable at ~45.1 K.<br>• Widespread adoption of **CPP** and **I
