Breaking the Charts for Hybrid and Hypercasual in 2025
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ-๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐? Buckle up for this takeaway-packed interview – it might just be the spark your game needs to blow up. ๐
Mobile game growth in 2025 is driven by three key aspects: speed, monetization, and globalization.
Now, it’s all about rapid iteration: how quickly you can develop and launch multiple games.
This hybrid model balances immediate ad revenue with the potential for significant IAP income from engaged players, creating a more sustainable and profitable game in the long run.
AI tools arenโt just handy- they are a necessity for keeping up with the demand for fresh content. As I explained:
โ๐๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏโ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ด, ๐ช๐ต’๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ.โ
With over a decade of experience under their belts, they’ve seen games of all shapes and sizes, from big-budget blockbusters to scrappy indies, casual to hardcore, and everything in between, all trying to make it big on the global stage. And they’ve been in the trenches with studios and developers, helping them succeed.
Today, we talked to Two and a Half Gamers on how to breaks the charts in 2025 for hybrid and hyper-casual games. Buckle up for this takeaway-packed interview – it might just be the spark your game needs to blow up.
The Growth of Mobile Gaming: No Sign of Slowdown
Despite the chatter about mobile game growth hitting the brakes, especially after the COVID-fueled boom that supercharged hyper-casual and hybrid-casual games, the industry is far from slowing down. As Two and a Half Gamers point out, mobile game growth in 2025 is driven by three key aspects: speed, monetization, and globalization.
Gaming studios are cranking out more games than ever by perfecting a winning formula and reusing it. It’s no longer about creating one amazing game and crossing your fingers for success. Now, it’s all about rapid iteration: how quickly you can develop and launch multiple games. As Jakub notes:
If you don’t follow this model of templatization, you just won’t make it. Habby is the best example of this. They’ve pretty much nailed their template: a roguelike, action RPG metagame which they keep perfecting as different core game styles. It’s all the same metagame but with a different core, and this is something you just can’t catch up with. They just change the core, change the visuals – boom, completely new game. But in the end, it’s pretty much a perfected version of their previous game. So it’s not about relying on just one hit-driven game, but how fast you can develop the next one.
Companies like MiHoYo (Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail) Peak (Match Factory) and DeNA (Pokรฉmon Masters EX, $300M in revenue) are further setting examples of templatized growth.
While app store charts might suggest the mobile gaming industry is slowing down, there’s a massive pool of money that isn’t being accounted for. Webshops are emerging as another revenue stream for games, separate from traditional app store earnings. Felix points out:
โI worked with companies where 50% of payments went through webshops instead of app stores. This unaccounted revenue shows mobile games are still growing double digits.โ
Over the years, we’re seeing a globalization trend in hybrid & hyper-casual games. They’re popping up from Eurasia and Asia, particularly from countries like Turkey, Vietnam, China, and South Korea. These developers are creating games with global audiences in mind, and the speed and impact of their growth is aggressive. As I noted:
โWe were quite amazed how far ahead China is. For example, when Lucky Defense launched globally, half of the US or European industry didnโt even know about it. But in China, there were already 10 companies working on clones or iterations, with prototypes, just two weeks after its release. Itโs insane!โ
From lightning-fast development cycles to diverse monetization models, these trends are charging the mobile gaming landscape and taking it global at high speed.
UA Diversification: Start Now, Scale as You Go
User acquisition is more challenging than ever, but when the going gets tough, the tough get creative. UA diversification is an essential in todayโs competitive mobile gaming market. Relying on a single platform, like Facebook, is no longer sufficient. As I noted:
โYou just need to start UA on multiple channels from scratch and from day one, basically, which wasnโt the case a few years ago.โ
A strong starting point is to focus on four key platforms – such as Facebook, TikTok, AppLovin, and Unity – and gradually expand to include others like Mistplay and adjoe. This approach ensures broader audience reach while reducing reliance on a single channel, which can lead to rising CPIs and diminishing returns.
2024 UA Playbook: Diversifying beyond Traditional Channels
All of this is from my recent talk at Appfest in Barcelona!
โI ran a survey on my subscribers, and the average number of UA channels was between 8 to 12, and the budget went from $100,000 per month to a few millions.โ
Diversification also means experimenting with campaign types. Combining high-value strategies like in-app purchase ROAS campaigns with cost-effective methods, such as app event-optimized campaigns, creates a balanced approach.
Starting early, testing across channels, and making quick, data-driven adjustments are now essential for scaling in todayโs UA landscape.
Hybrid Monetization: The Sweet Spot for Revenue
Two and a Half Gamers define hybrid monetization as a revenue profile where approximately 40-60% comes from ads and 40-60% from in-app purchases (IAP). Combined, these two sources create a hybrid monetization model.
This approach means your game needs to have a robust economy with enough “spend depth” – the total potential spending available for dedicated players to maximize progress or power. You need to build the economy, design your progression system, and gradually unfold the game. As players advance, you introduce interstitial ads, rewarded videos, banner ads, and similar monetization elements. Companies like Voodoo and SayGames exemplify this strategy. Jakub emphasizes:
For a game with a longer lifecycle, say 3-4 years, it’s crucial to incorporate an IAP economy. This ensures players have ongoing opportunities to spend within the game, supporting its longevity.
This hybrid model balances immediate ad revenue with the potential for significant IAP income from engaged players, creating a more sustainable and profitable game in the long run.
Getting Started with Mobile Advertising Revenue
You asked, Felix delivered, and you have exclusive access as my subscribers!
But its success hinges on personalized strategies and effective user acquisition . As Felix pointed out:
โThe most important thing to remember, and the tip of the spear, is user acquisition. How it trickles down to your game design, it trickles down to your ad segmentation. Without that, you canโt have ad monetization or cheap CPI.โ
Sophisticated segmentation tailors experiences based on UA campaigns. Players from IAP-driven campaigns might avoid ads initially, while those from ad ROAS campaigns see banners and interstitials sooner for faster monetization. Attribution tools like Airbridge enable publishers to implement real-time segmentation, ensuring the right monetization strategy for each user. Jakub warned:
โDonโt throw away all your monetization into the drain by giving high-value offers to low spendersโtheyโll actually be repelled by it and wonโt want to buy.โ
Ad Creatives: Scaling with AI and TikTok
Ad creatives are critical for user acquisition success, and leveraging both playables and AI tools has become a necessity. As I highlighted:
โYou need playables for all the SDK networks. If you run Facebook and Google, it doesn’t matter, but AppLovin, you absolutely need it. For all the likes of Mintegral, Moloco as well, it’s critical.โ
Playables are widely considered one of the most effective ad formats for hyper and hybrid casual games. The challenge is that despite their effectiveness, they’re tough to create and deploy at scale. But now, developers can simplify the process by starting with game tutorials and scaling efficiently using tools likeย PlayableMaker.com, which allows users to create interactive and engaging ads from existing video content.
Playables Trends in Mobile Games – January 2025
As the UA landscape evolves, so do the creative trends that shape how games communicate with their audiences. With the rise of Applovin and increased spend on SDK networks, Iโve decided to bring you a monthly trends review of top-performing playable ads
AI tools arenโt just handy- they are a necessity for keeping up with the demand for fresh content. I explained:
โOn Facebook and TikTok, you need to refresh creatives oftenโlike every two or three days. And if you don’t use AI tools, it’s impossible.โ
How to use AI in advertising
December 16, 2024
What Youโll Learn in This Article:
The best approach strikes a balance between quality and volume. As tools like Midjourney evolve from static to video, and from 2D to 3D, it’s becoming easier to churn out story-driven narratives with AI voice-overs. As I described:
โThe sweet spot is you have your own creative team building quality creatives. They build their concepts, different unique concepts. And then on the side, you play around with the AI toolsโthat’s kind of balancing the volume play.โ
With tools like Poolday AI and Runway ML enabling rapid creative production, developers and even UA Managers can efficiently refresh content and stay ahead in the ever-changing ad landscape. I
Take Poolday, for instance. You can export one video with 10 different AI people in the time it’d take 100 people every 5 minutes. This year, the name of the game is velocity of creatives. How many ad creatives can you pump out? Because that’s what the algorithm’s hungry for these days.
How to decrease CPIs by 40% & find 3+ winners in 1h of creative production?
This is what you get in this AI UGC video guide:
In today’s complex mobile game marketing landscape, UA success isn’t just about creating great ads โit’s about producing a high volume of quality ads, fast.
The Evolving Role of UA Managers: Wearing Multiple Hats
UA managers are no longer just media buyers – they now play a much broader role. Beyond hitting ROAS targets, UA managers now run marketability tests, collaborate with product teams during soft launches, analyze KPIs, and even contribute to creative production. With the rise of AI tools, they often take on tasks like motion design to refine ad creatives. As I explained:
โAs a UA manager, you need to wear multiple hats, obviously, and sit on multiple chairs.โ
Gone are the days of relying solely on CPI tests. Advanced strategies now include testing multiple onboarding versions, such as mini-games, to quickly identify the most effective approach. Jakub highlighted this trend:
โThey take the first 60-70 minutes of a game, cut it into versions A, B, C, D, and run tests. Itโs the same game in the end, but they see which onboarding works best.โ
The role of a UA manager now extends far beyond simple ad placement, making them integral to a game’s overall strategy and success. This evolution has transformed UA managers into critical drivers of growth, requiring a diverse skill set and data-driven methodologies.
Predictive LTV: Making Decisions in Real Time
Predictive lifetime value (pLTV) models have become essential tools for UA managers to make faster, data-driven decisions. I emphasized:
โYou need to have the numbers on a daily basis and ideally for the cohorts, like in the first three days. If youโre waiting seven days to make a decision, thatโs already too late.โ
While P-LTV is critical for projecting performance and optimizing campaigns early, many companies struggle with it. I pointed out a common pitfall:
โMost companies fail because they build the pLTV model and thatโs it. They donโt refresh it or look at historical data, and then it becomes a mess.โ
Localization: Adapting Games for Global Audiences
Making it big on the global stage goes beyond simple translationโit’s about localization, tailoring games to regional preferences. As Jakub noted:
โFeature sets are just much more robust in Asiaโthree times more robustโbecause people in Asia are just much more feature-hungry.โ
Asian audiences favor complex games with layered progression and numerous systems. However, these heavy designs can overwhelm Western players. To succeed in the West, games must be simplified. Jakub continues:
โWhen youโre trying to move your game to the West, make it more streamlined, more approachable, more easier. For instance, if we take, letโs say, Rush Royale by MY.GAMES, itโs just a streamlined version of Random Dice.โ
By simplifying mechanics and creating region-specific designs, developers can ensure their games resonate with diverse global audiences.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
The insights shared by Two and a Half Gamers emphasize the need for adaptability and agility in mobile gaming. From hybrid monetization to AI-driven ad creatives, success lies in leveraging data, scaling efficiently, and understanding regional nuances. As I aptly summarized:
“Success comes from balancing strong UA, innovative monetization strategies, and scalable ad creatives. Itโs about working smarter, not just harder.”
By embracing these strategies, developers can navigate the challenges of a competitive industry and unlock new growth opportunities. For more insights, visit the Two and a Half Gamers podcast and airbridge.io.
Supercharge Your Growth with Airbridge
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