Mobile Ad Monetization #9
The “British Invasion” was a cultural phenomenon in the mid-1960s, when rock and pop bands from the UK became popular in the USA. Today, there’s a similar global trend in mobile gaming: Vietnamese-made ad-driven mobile games are taking the global download charts by storm. In December, the 10 largest publishers from Vietnam were downloaded 143 million times (that’s a lot). Looking at the top 25 mobile game studios by downloads, 4 out of them are Vietnamese. iKame, a Vietnamese studio based in Hanoi, is about to overtake Outfit7 as the 7th largest studio in absolute download terms. Undoubtedly, there’s a “Vietnamese Invasion” in mobile gaming. So, let’s look at the main Vietnamese studios that are leading the charge to take over the download charts and estimate their ad revenues.
🇻🇳The Vietnamese Invasion🇻🇳
Just so you get an idea of the scale of the Vietnamese mobile gaming industry, according to my Sensor Tower query, 44 studios based in Vietnam have generated more than 1 million downloads for their games in the last 30 days. I’ve decided to break down the six largest studios. But it’s safe to say that the industry is booming
- iKame
Based in Hanoi, iKame is currently the largest developer based in Vietnam by downloads. iKame publishes games under other studio names: Dino Global, Jura Global, iMagic, and Zego Global. Their largest games are primarily racing games and puzzle games. Their largest titles are Car Race, Bus Out, and Woodle – Wood Screw Puzzle. We’ve covered some of their new launches on 2.5 gamers. It’s very hard for me to estimate ad revenues as they have so many apps, but conservatively, it is in the $450-550k/day range.
2. Bravestars
Also based in Hanoi, Bravestars has amassed over 1 billion downloads and 180 million monthly active users since its inception in 2013. Its flagship hybrid casual titles are Fruit Merge, Paper Doll Diary, and Woody Nuts and Bolts. Bravestars focuses more on the female audience than iKame and is currently the 12th largest mobile publisher by downloads. Given its massive DAU, its ad revenue should be somewhere in the 250-300k/day range.
3. XGame Studio
Launched in Hanoi ( starting to see a trend here) in 2018, XGame has generated close to 800 million downloads worldwide since then, according to Sensor Tower. The majority of its revenues are revenue-based. Not sure what it means, but XGame Studio’s website looks very similar to Bravestar’s website🤷♂️.
4. ABI Games Studio
During my visit to Hanoi earlier in the year, I was told that ABI Games is pronounced Abi, Not A-B-I, as I used to say. According to Sensor Tower, ABI Games and its 10 other publisher accounts have amassed a mind-boggling 2 billion downloads since 2015 and boast 10 million daily active users worldwide. I’d estimate that their portfolio of games generates anywhere between $200-280k/day in ad revenue.
5. Amanotes PTE
With offices in Singapore and Vietnam, Amantoes specializes in music-themed games. Their flagship game is Magic Tiles 3, a piano hero game (yes, guitar hero but with a piano.. you get it) that, according to my estimates, generates between $90-100k/day in both IAP and Ad revenue. Magic Tiles 3 alone has 2.5 million daily active users🤯. According to their website, the studio has generated 3 billion downloads and, at some point, had 100m daily active users across its games.
6. Falcon Games
Last but definitely not least on our list is Falcon Games. If you’re ready for some mind-blowing download numbers, look no further, as Flacon Games have been downloaded more than 3 billion times. Falcon Games focuses primarily on Puzzle games and sorting games. Cake Sort, from my best guesses looking at Sensor Tower Data, is the largest game with 1.3m active users worldwide.
⭐️Ad Monetization Words of Wisdom ⭐️
Shifting gears away from Vietnam and its developer’s global expansion,n here are some Ad Monetization words of wisdom on how to read data in Applovin MAX.
Reading Data in Applovin MAX
Under Performance, you’ll find all your revenue metrics. One common heart-stopping moment for newbies on the platform is seeing how MAX reports on today’s revenue, which can make all the graphs appear to slope downward, giving the impression that revenue is decreasing. Stay calm—this is normal, as revenue naturally appears lower before the day is completed.
Under “View by,” you can filter by Application, Network, and Ad Type. You can combine this with the Filter option, allowing you to break down metrics by app, country, and ad type for more detailed insights.
To effectively monitor your performance, I strongly recommend regularly checking the following breakdowns: View by “App” and “Network,” and select the specific apps you’re monetizing under Filter. Look for any increases, decreases, or deviations from the usual revenue patterns. If a network’s revenue suddenly drops or spikes, it’s essential to investigate and understand the cause. Focusing only on topline revenue can lead to missed details that may end up costing you significant ad revenue.
The Performance tab is excellent for viewing revenue metrics, but it’s also important to combine it with user activity insights. Navigate to MAX → User Activity to access all data related to what users are actually doing in your game.
The key metrics to monitor here are ARPDAU, particularly AdARPDAU, which we’ve covered extensively in this series. Additionally, keep an eye on Ad Viewer Rate and IMP/DAU. I recommend reviewing User Activity data alongside Performance data. If you notice any deviations from your usual revenue patterns, it’s worth checking if they correlate with game metrics like a drop in IMP/DAU or Ad Viewer Rate. For instance, if you see a decrease in revenue along with a decline in Ad Viewer Rate, the issue is likely within your app or game rather than network-related.
💰Great Content 💰
This week on 2.5 Gamers, I covered some interesting developments on remove ads messaging and how it’s being used to drive IAP and subscription revenue. Many new interesting trends are happening in Remove Ads Messaging, Remove Ads Double Choice, and Ads Bundling. It’s my talk from PGC London this year, but I figured a better home for it is on YouTube so more people can have a look.
🎯The Cinderella of the Week🎯
Miracles still happen! Despite the uber-competitive landscape in mobile, solo developers are still able to scale their IAA monetized games to crazy levels. This section is to salute you. Why? Because everyone loves a Cinderella story… that’s why.
Linh Vu Phan’s King of Steaks has generated 120k downloads in less than two weeks and has retained a DAU of 54k. It is an ASMR cooking game in which you operate a steakhouse. It always brings me joy to see solo developers reach the charts!
For More Incredible Insights
Try 2.5 Gamers on YouTube!
