Summary
A new report from Adjust and AppLovin reveals that mobile gaming is not stagnating but evolving. Key findings: innovation thrives with hybrid casual genres; generative AI transforms creative development, saving time and enhancing efficiency; CTV becomes a prime channel for mobile game ads due to live-action elements. Hybrid monetization combining in-app purchases, ads, and subscriptions is crucial for long-term success, improving player lifetime value.
Despite challenges like slower growth and rising user acquisition costs, the report emphasizes adaptation: leveraging AI tools, diversifying monetization, and expanding into CTV. Data-driven strategies and expert insights provide a roadmap for marketers to acquire and retain users effectively in a competitive landscape.
You Might Also Like
AppsFlyerHow to deliver a winning creative strategy
A creative strategy is essential for mobile app marketing success. It combines compelling content with strategic planning to increase app installs and engagement. Key steps include defining objectives, understanding your audience, and setting KPIs. Best practices emphasize consistency, agility, and leveraging AI for optimization.
Liftoff(Vungle)6 Ad Formats to Take Your Mobile In-Game Advertising to the Next Level
Mobile in-game advertising balances revenue and player experience using formats like banners, interstitials, playables, videos, rewarded, and native ads. Each format varies in cost, engagement, and ROI across platforms, with no single best option—success depends on goals, budget, and platform-specific performance.
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.
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.
TikTokTikTok Advertising Blog: Find Product Updates, Insights & Tips
This TikTok for Business landing page promotes a limited-period new-advertiser incentive program offering up to USD 6,000 in matched ad credits. Three self-serve tiers are presented: 50% off first 30-day spend (up to $200), dollar-for-dollar match up to $500, and match up to $6,000. A separate headline offer advertises Spend $100/Get $100, Spend $500/Get $500, and Spend $1,500/Get $1,500 plus 1-to-1 expert onboarding support. Registration requires email or phone sign-up with 2-step verification. Eligibility is restricted to new SMB self-serve accounts, excluding agency, Business Center, and TikTok Shop accounts; credits post within 7 days of hitting the highest threshold or after the 30-day window.
SensorTower2024 State of Mobile: The App Market Bounced Back in 2023 and is Primed for a Record-Breaking 2024
Mobile market rebounded in 2023 with record $171B consumer spend. Apps drove growth at 11% YoY to $64B. Generative AI exploded 7x. Travel apps surged 13%. Mobile ad spend reached $362B.
TikTokAppsFlyer Report: Creative Performance In Gaming | TikTok For Business Blog
A new AppsFlyer report in collaboration with TikTok reveals that 2% of creative variations drive 68% of ad budgets, emphasizing the need for scaling creative iteration with AI to combat ad fatigue and boost ROAS.
TikTokVideo Ads Marketing Guide: Elevate Your Brand with Engaging Video Marketing Strategies | TikTok For Business Blog
TikTok video ads use short, engaging clips to promote brands. Effective ads start with a strong hook, include clear CTAs, use sound and text overlays, and test formats. TikTok offers In-Feed, TopView, Spark Ads, and more for diverse marketing.
More from AppLovin
Why pursue TikTok? A vision for economic expansion
The blog highlights the strategic rationale for a TikTok merger, emphasizing the performance advertising gap where TikTo...
Examination of e-commerce data practices
The article examines how identifiers like those from Google and Facebook flow across e-commerce sites via standard integ...
Performance Advertising: How we drive value and handle data
AppLovin explains its AI-driven advertising platform, Axon 2, which has quadrupled ad spend to a ~$10B run rate. The eng...
A Note from Our CEO: Discussing Web Advertising Opportunity and Unpacking Pixels
AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi refutes a short report questioning its e-commerce ad business and pixel practices. He highlig...
10 tips for user acquisition on a budget
User acquisition on a budget is achievable through a mix of organic and low-cost paid strategies. Key tactics include op...
How app technical health impacts LTV—and what to do about it
Performance issues like crashes and slow load times directly reduce user retention and LTV. With 60% of users uninstalli...