Liftoff(Vungle)3 Must-Know Changes to Mobile Game Player Motivations in 2023
Summary
The article analyzes 2023 mobile gaming trends through player motivation archetypes. Key trends include: 1) Rising competitive and skill-mastery motivations in mid-core games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact. 2) Musical events creating excitement and escapism through limited-time spectacles in games like Sky: Children of the Light.
3) Hyper-casual games evolving with hybrid mechanics like resource optimization in Survivor.io to engage players seeking deeper investment. Understanding these motivations helps developers position games effectively and maintain relevance.
You Might Also Like
AppsFlyerHow PC and console platforms open up new revenue streams for game developers
Mobile game studios are expanding to PC and console platforms to boost revenue and reach new audiences. This shift is driven by higher ARPU on consoles, privacy regulations, and market saturation on mobile. Cross-platform measurement solutions are essential for tracking user flows and optimizing performance marketing across devices.
AppsFlyerWeb Gaming: The untapped path to lower CPI and boost ROAS
Mobile CPI and app store fees are eroding ROAS, making web gaming a viable acquisition channel. Full Unity-to-HTML5 ports now deliver 30-50% lower CAC and avoid 15-30% store revenue cuts via web payments. Measurement parity is here: AppsFlyer enables independent attribution, conversion signals, and unified reporting. Retention can improve; one strategy title jumped from 6-7 minutes mobile to 70+ minutes web. Best fit: deep RPG, strategy, puzzle, story games, not hypercasual. Action: audit catalog, pilot web ports, link accounts cross-platform, and use owned media to drive high-intent web users.
SensorTowerTop 10 Worldwide Mobile Games By Revenue and Downloads in September 2026
September mobile gaming softened overall but delivered clear live-ops wins. Global consumer spending hit $6.13B, down 7% MoM, with the US at 28.7%, China iOS 15.7%, and Japan 12.4%. Downloads reached 3.56B, down 5.2%, led by India at 16.2%. ROBLOX topped downloads and revenue growth; Honor of Kings stayed strong via seasonal content; Candy Crush and Pokémon GO used music, celebrity, and event-driven engagement. For ad ops, prioritize event-aligned UA/retargeting, IP collaborations, seasonal battle passes, and localized creatives for US/India/Brazil. Monitor launch spikes from Bus Fever Party!, Honor of Kings Chess, and Brain Puzzle 3 to time bids and creative refreshes.
Liftoff(Vungle)Why Gaming Traffic Could Be Key To Scaling Your Non-Gaming App
Mobile gaming offers a large, diverse audience with high engagement and purchasing power. Advertising in gaming apps provides brand-safe environments and effective ad formats like playables. Brands should reconsider gaming traffic to expand reach and improve ROI.
Liftoff(Vungle)7 Playable Ads Best Practices for Mobile Apps
Playable ads boost engagement beyond mobile games. Align creative with app experience, keep it simple, reward users, and use specific CTAs. Study data to optimize campaigns for better retention and ROAS.
AppsFlyerCreative optimization: Why your best video ad fails as a static image
AppsFlyer’s 2026 creative data shows video and static image ads reward opposite creative qualities, so ad ops teams should plan, budget, and test them separately. Video spend is concentrating: gaming’s top 2% of video creatives captured 60.7% of spend, up from 53.5%, while image spend spread out. Top spenders are testing far more variations, widening the testing gap. Action/Strategy and Puzzle/Lifestyle show format-specific tone and social-proof reversals; Finance is the exception. Teams should use AI-assisted variation, analyze video winners deeply, keep broad image testing, and measure performance at attribute level.
AppsFlyerSubscription-based apps: How to set yourself for success
Subscription apps like Netflix and Spotify charge recurring fees for premium features. They offer predictable revenue, higher user loyalty, and better App Store rankings. Key models include flat-rate, tiered, and per-user pricing. Success requires value-driven pricing, free trials, and transparent practices.
Liftoff(Vungle)5 Creative Advantages of Long-Form Mobile Video Ads
Long-form video ads (31-60 seconds) can outperform short ads by 18-48% in conversions, offering narrative storytelling, detailed user experience demos, engagement opportunities, bottom-funnel targeting, and brand building for mobile campaigns.
More from Liftoff(Vungle)
A lighter SDK, without the trade-offs
The Liftoff Monetize SDK combines a minimal footprint with full monetization power. Under 1 MB on Android and 5.12 MB on...
The World Cup audience doesn’t disappear during halftime. It picks up a phone.
World Cup data from Liftoff's SSP shows ad impressions in sports scoring apps nearly doubled (+90%) and unique audience ...
Madison Avenue is missing out on in-app advertising
In-app mobile advertising is held back by three myths: low-quality inventory, intrusive ad formats, and reliance on Big ...
Is All Supply Created Equal? The Case for Choosing DSPs Based on Model Intelligence vs Inventory
Treating DSPs as interchangeable commoditizes ad buying. In reality, models differ sharply: two DSPs can view the same i...
In the Age of AI, Creative Taste Is the Last True Moat
Mobile marketing teams are scrutinizing whether AI improves creative output or just increases volume. Key insights: inad...
A Year of Spend Shifts: Inside the 2026 Finance & Crypto App Benchmark
The 2026 Finance & Crypto App Performance Benchmark reveals a 47% increase in UA spend and 2.15x re-engagement spend in ...