Singular
Singular is a marketing analytics and attribution platform company. It publishes articles and data reports on mobile game user acquisition, ad networks, SKAdNetwork adoption, and top game rankings.
Documents
Quarterly Report: 2026 Q3
Global advertising expenditure experienced a robust 14.77% rebound during the third quarter of 2026, signaling a period of intense market activity despite rising operational costs.
- Global ad spend grew 14.77% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2026, recovering from an 8.79% decline in Q1. Android and iOS ad spend grew at 14.73% and 14.80% respectively.
- iOS impressions fell 5.40% while Android impressions rose 6.40%, leading to iOS's share of inventory dropping from 40.93% to 38.12%. This contraction in iOS inventory contributed to a 21.36% rise in iOS CPM, nearly three times Android’s 7.84% increase.
- Global Cost Per Install (CPI) rose 8.47% to $1.25, and Cost Per Mille (CPM) rose 13.00% to $2.86, primarily driven by increased media costs.
Top Mobile Games 2026: Downloads, Revenue and DAU Leaders
The mobile gaming landscape in the first half of 2026 is defined by a significant structural shift, characterized by a 12% decline in global download volume alongside a relatively stable 2% dip in in-app purchase revenue.
- In H1 2026, mobile game downloads dropped 12% to 24 billion, while in-app purchase revenue declined only 2% to $39.8 billion, resulting in an 11% increase in revenue per download.
- Gaming digital ad spend grew 8% to $7 billion across 41 markets, driven by a 14% increase in impressions as marketers shifted focus toward reaching existing high-value users rather than prioritizing install volume.
- Roblox leads the industry in daily active users with 145.4 million, representing a 55.3% growth rate, followed by Garena Free Fire at 88.8 million and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at 54.4 million.
SKAN 4 Adoption in 2025: Does It Matter?
The mobile advertising industry has reached a significant milestone in 2025 as Meta has begun a substantial transition to SKAdNetwork (SKAN) 4.
- Meta has begun transitioning to SKAN 4.0, marking a significant shift in adoption by the industry's largest ad network three years after Apple's initial release.
- The adoption of SKAN 4.0 by major players is now showing a sustainable upward trend in postback volume, moving beyond previous temporary spikes.
- SKAN 4.0 provides improved measurement capabilities for lower-volume apps by enabling signal returns through coarse conversion values.
Top PC Games Right Now (2025)
The 2025 PC gaming landscape is characterized by a bifurcated ecosystem where massive, live-service multiplayer platforms coexist with highly acclaimed, narrative-driven indie titles.
- PC gaming is currently experiencing faster growth than the mobile gaming sector, supported by a global base of nearly one billion PC players.
- Black Myth: Wukong leads 2025 concurrent player counts with 1.4 million users, followed by Monster Hunter Wilds at approximately 1.3 million.
- Free-to-play monetization remains the dominant revenue model for top-tier PC titles, including Fortnite, Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and Valorant.
Mobile Gaming CTR: Q3 Quarterly Trends Report
The Q3 2025 Quarterly Trends Report analyzes significant shifts in mobile advertising performance, specifically highlighting a dramatic surge in click-through rates (CTR) within the mobile gaming sector.
- Mobile gaming click-through rates (CTR) on iOS surged from 6.1% in January to 25.9% in June 2025.
- The dramatic rise in iOS gaming CTR is primarily driven by the widespread adoption of rewarded ads utilizing SKOverlay, which allows for lightweight App Store listings to appear directly within games.
- The increase in CTR is partially attributed to accidental user interactions, such as mis-taps when attempting to close ads, rather than purely intentional engagement.
Q2 Quarterly Report 2024
The mobile ecosystem in the second quarter of 2024 reflects a period of structural recalibration, characterized by tightening privacy constraints and shifting genre preferences. iOS App Tracking Transparency opt-in rates have fallen to 13.85%, intensifying the challenge of user acquisition and contributing to a 6% increase in…
- In Q2 2024, the gap in immediate ATT opt-in rates between games and non-gaming apps widened to 6.67%, with 18.58% of games and 11.92% of apps receiving a 'yes' upon download.
- Music games achieved the highest ATT opt-in rate at 35%, while Casino and Trivia games had the lowest, both under 10%.
- Weather apps had a high ATT opt-in rate of 38% in Q2, though this was a decrease from nearly 45% in Q1.
Teens and Games: What the Latest Data Says
This analysis examines the gaming habits of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17, drawing on recent survey data from Pew Research and industry insights from the 2024 Adjoe Mobile Games Index.
- 85% of U.S. teens play video games, with 41% playing daily and 41% identifying as "gamers."
- Gaming is a highly social activity for teens, as 89% play with others and nearly half have made a friend online through gaming.
- There is a significant gender gap in gaming habits: 62% of boys identify as gamers compared to 40% of girls, and boys are nearly three times more likely to play daily (61%) than girls (22%).
Top Global Ad Networks: Talking ROI Index with SplitMetrics
The 2024 ROI Index provides a comprehensive analysis of global mobile ad networks, focusing on user acquisition performance across various genres, regions, and operating systems.
- The 2024 ROI Index identifies the 'Golden 6' ad networks that ranked in every category for mobile user acquisition: Google, Meta, TikTok, ironSource, AppLovin, and Moloco.
- Moloco is highlighted as a standout performer, achieving a top-tier ranking despite lacking the massive scale, walled-garden infrastructure, or conglomerate status of the other five 'Golden 6' networks.
- The 2024 ROI Index analysis is based on data derived from billions of mobile installs and trillions of ad impressions.
Gaming DNA: What Factors Matter Most in Mobile, Console, and PC Games
The analysis of gaming DNA explores the psychological and behavioral factors that drive player engagement across mobile, console, and PC platforms.
- The primary driver of toxicity in gaming is not anonymity or trolling, but rather the mismatch of player motivations and gameplay styles when users are grouped together.
- Successful player matchmaking requires aligning individual gaming 'blueprints,' such as preferences for complexity, exploration, grinding, or instant gratification.
- Gaming motivations are more significant predictors of player compatibility and satisfaction than traditional demographic data.
When Will SKAN 4 Adoption Start Growing Again?
The primary objective of this analysis is to explain the recent decline in SKAN 4 adoption and forecast when growth will resume.
- As of August 2023, SKAN 4 adoption dropped to 9% of all mobile app install postbacks, down from a peak of 27% on July 29.
- The decline in SKAN 4 adoption was driven by a 'CV reset bug' that caused fine conversion values to reset to zero and coarse values to 'none' when conversion values were decremented.
- Despite the industry-wide decline, some ad networks maintained higher SKAN 4 adoption rates, including Unity (over 50%), AppLovin (nearly 50%), Smadex (36%), Appier (26%), and Mintegral (16%).
TikTok's Push Into Gaming: What It Means for App Publishers
TikTok is strategically evolving from a pure entertainment app into a multifaceted platform by integrating gaming features directly into its user experience.
- TikTok generated $840 million in in-app purchase revenue during Q1 2022, positioning the platform to reach $1 billion in quarterly revenue shortly thereafter.
- The platform maintains a global user base of 1.6 billion monthly active users who spend an average of 20 hours per month within the app.
- TikTok is actively expanding into the gaming sector, focusing on content that is engaging, sticky, and designed to foster community interaction.
In-Game Ads Exploding: Why Non-Intrusive Ads Embedded in Games Are Growing
The gaming industry is increasingly adopting non-intrusive, embedded advertising as a primary monetization strategy.
- Non-intrusive in-game advertising is emerging as a significant revenue stream by embedding brand placements directly into game architecture and artwork rather than using traditional interstitial or rewarded ad loops.
- Gaming is increasingly capturing the attention of younger demographics who are shifting away from traditional television, which currently commands approximately 2,000 hours of consumption per year compared to the 500 hours logged by binge gamers.
- Major console manufacturers including Microsoft and Sony are reportedly exploring in-game ad integration to support free-to-play titles or offset costs for pay-to-play games.
Reports about Singular
6 documents by other writers name Singular in the title or summary.
🧙 Solo Dev Journey #2: Am I Making ANY Money?
This analysis examines the financial mechanics of mobile game user acquisition (UA) through the lens of a solo developer managing the title One Mage Army.
- Profitability in mobile UA is driven by the relationship between CPI and LTV over a defined payback window rather than immediate day-zero returns.
- The developer achieved a 103% return on ad spend (ROAS) over a 30-day period by scaling daily UA expenditure from $200 to $2,500.
- Aggressive paid UA scaling creates a compounding effect by boosting organic install volume alongside paid acquisition.
Session: Scale Your App! Applifter's OS Turns Insights Into Installs - Goncalo Martins, AppLifters.
AppLifters provides a comprehensive operating system designed to streamline mobile user acquisition (UA) by integrating data analytics, creative production, and network management into a single platform.
- AppLifters provides a centralized OS that integrates data analytics, creative production, and network bidding to address fragmentation in mobile user acquisition.
- The platform features a predictive LTV model that forecasts user value up to day 180, allowing teams to make informed bidding decisions as early as day one.
- An AI-driven alert system monitors real-time metrics like eCPM and ARPO, enabling user acquisition teams to address campaign performance issues on the same day they occur.
Festive Season 2025: App Marketing Trends and Strategies for India
India’s festive season—from Onam in August through Diwali and Christmas in December—drives more than 30% of the country’s annual digital advertising spend, making it a pivotal period for app marketers.
- India's festive season (August–December) accounts for over 30% of annual digital ad spend, driving a 36% increase in installs and a 69% surge in re-engagements during the peak window.
- Mobile gaming remains a primary growth driver, recording 3.2 billion downloads and $151 million in-app purchase revenue in 2024.
- Ad spend efficiency improved during the festive period, with a 53% increase in mobile ad investment accompanied by a 12% reduction in cost-per-install (CPI).
How to Set Up Meta AdROAS Campaigns: Step-by-Step Guide for UA Teams
Meta’s AdROAS (Ad Return on Ad Spend) campaigns represent a significant shift in user acquisition for ad-monetized mobile applications, allowing marketers to optimize directly for ad revenue value rather than relying on proxy events like retention or engagement.
- Meta AdROAS optimization allows mobile apps to bid directly on ad revenue value, replacing previous workarounds that required passing ad revenue as fake purchase events.
- The feature is currently available exclusively for Android campaigns as of Q4 2024, with iOS support expected in the future.
- To unlock AdROAS, an app must record at least 15 attributed ad impression events with distinct values from Facebook-acquired users within a 28-day window.
Week in Mobile Games E38 - Xbox and Adjust mishandle their PR and Supercell's culture revolution
Microsoft’s strategic pivot toward a proprietary mobile store has encountered significant friction, exacerbated by a U.S. court decision to pause Google Play remedies and a widely criticized communication strategy.
- Supercell is abandoning its traditional small-team structure in favor of a dual-model approach that integrates larger live-game teams and formal management to combat creative stagnation.
- Microsoft’s attempt to launch a proprietary mobile store is facing significant setbacks due to a U.S. court decision pausing Google Play remedies and a poorly received communication strategy that alienated key partners.
- Mobile measurement firm Adjust is undergoing internal instability following abrupt leadership changes and workforce reductions, allowing competitors like Singular to capture market share and talent.
Deep & actionable SKAN 4.0 breakdown with Eran from Singular. What to expect from SKAN 4.0? (#55)
Apple’s SKAN 4.0 framework represents a pivotal shift in mobile attribution, moving beyond the restrictive 24-hour measurement windows of its predecessor to provide a more comprehensive view of long-term user behavior.
- SKAN 4.0 introduces three distinct conversion windows at 2, 7, and 35 days, enabling the measurement of long-term metrics like D35 return on ad spend.
- The framework expands source identifiers from 100 to 10,000, theoretically allowing for significantly deeper analysis of ad-set, creative, and placement performance.
- Access to high-fidelity data is gated by crowd anonymity tiers, meaning only high-volume advertisers will consistently receive the most granular reporting.