Mobile Gaming is still growing

Mobile gaming is still growing, but a big chunk of the revenue comes from older games. The data shows this clearly (based on Sensor Tower): more than 50% of in-app and subscription revenue is from six or older games. That's why there was so much talk about new growth strategies at the recent GDC, like more creative user acquisition, using IPs in games, web gaming, new platforms, different business models, deeper hybrid monetisation, etc. The problem is, this makes it harder to get a clear picture of mobile gaming's real growth, especially in categories where revenue is coming in through less traditional ways. Current data systems might struggle to track this, at least for now. It'll be interesting to see how this evolves...

Mariusz Gąsiewski March 31

Journal

Scaling Influencer Marketing Profitably

The 3-step framework I’ve used to scale 100+ Influencer Campaigns profitably 🧩 Phase 1: Gather Knowledge 🛠️ Phase 2: Optimise 🚀 Phase 3: ScaleIt’s a simple yet highly effective approach to making calculated decisions on targeting, creatives, incentives, etc. Start by working with nano and micro influencers, then when you have enough confidence, scale to mid-sized, and eventually, mega-influencers.Each Phase spans a few months (and campaigns), so naturally, each can be broken down into more detailed steps (which I’ve covered in previous posts)But this is a broad overview of the framework I use - and a tried and tested approach to scaling Influencer Campaigns profitably!

Marion Balinoff March 31

Journal

Live-ops events cheatsheet

Live-ops events cheatsheet Here’s a breakdown of the 10 most common live-ops events and why they work 👇𝟭. 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 🔥 • Clear levels without losing • Longer streaks = better rewards • Creates loss aversion and momentum𝟮. 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 📋 • Fresh tasks and rewards every day • Encourages daily play and habit-building • Keeps content feeling dynamic𝟯. 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 🎁 • Log in daily to earn rewards • More consecutive days = better prizes • Simple but powerful retention mechanic𝟰. 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 ⏰ • Limited-time boosts (usually 1 hour) • Increases peak-time engagement • Great for reactivating lapsed users𝟱. 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 🧗 • Short-term goals with quick rewards • Encourages progression • Often supports bigger live events𝟲. 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🏆 • Players or teams compete on a leaderboard • Top scorers get exclusive rewards • Adds social competition and […]

Anton Slashcev March 31

Journal

Custom Product Pages are a game changer.

Custom Product Pages are a game changer. You can tailor your App Store page to match what users saw in your ad or what they were searching for:→ Show the exact keyword in your screenshots→ Align your creative with seasonality (Halloween, Christmas…)→ Update for in-app events or exclusive collabsYou can use them on Apple Search Ads - Search results, Today tab and Search tab placements.But actually testing them? Not so easy.Here are the options:- Before/after comparisons. But it's flawed as too many fluctuations.- Splitting ad groups, one with CPP, one with default. It works, but it’s messy. No visual comparisons. No clear statistical significance. Hard to justify any decision.✨ Here’s the twist: MobileAction just released their CPP A/B Testing tool (still in closed beta).The promise:- Multiple testing methods: compare CPPs, ad groups, or CPP vs. default.- 90% confidence level (no […]

Julie Tonna March 31

Journal

Boost playtime in your Game?

Want to boost playtime in your game? 𝟭. 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 ⏰ 𝘓𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 (1–24𝘩) 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸. • Perfect for boosting activity during quiet hours. • Boosts rewards or discounts • Highlights active periods with alerts • Timed to match low engagement hours𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 ♾️ 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. • Earned via events, purchases, or rewards • Timer shows how long it lasts • Urgency kicks in: use it or lose it𝟯. 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 🔗 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴. • Visual counter builds pressure • Players push harder to protect their streak • Booster usage goes up𝟰. 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📆 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴. 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵. • Resets every 24 hours • Rewards: currency, boosters, progress • Encourages regular logins and gameplay variety𝟱. 𝗟𝗮𝘃𝗮 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 🔥 𝘞𝘪𝘯 5–7 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 […]

Anton Slashcev March 31

Journal

Most Popular Rewarded Ads Placements in Hybrid-Casual

Most Popular RV Ads Placements in Hybrid-Casual 𝟭. 🎁 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿• Appears after a win (~every 3–5 minutes)• Offers x1.5 to x3 in-game currency• Seen in: Mob Control, Screw Jam, Tower War𝟮. ❤️ 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲• Shows up when the player loses a level• Revives or restarts the run• Works even without an active win streak• Seen in: Mob Control, Screw Jam𝟯. ⏩ 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗽• Skips building upgrade timers• Used in hubs or chest unlock screens• Available multiple times a day• Seen in: Mob Control, Pocket Champs, 3D Racing𝟰. ⚡ 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸• Gives just enough currency to unlock the next stage• Appears when the user doesn’t have enough soft currency• Seen in: Mob Control𝟱. 🎉 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺 / 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸• Grants a free upgrade item or chest• Found in the shop or daily deals• Typically 1x per day• Seen in: […]

Anton Slashcev March 28

Analysis

Supercell’s mo.co: A Constructive Deep Dive

Supercell has once again entered the mobile gaming landscape with their newest title, mo.co, a game that blends elements of Action RPGs, MMOs, and a bit of Extraction Shooters (specifically, given how its core loop is currently constructed, it resembles some elements from Extraction genres — if you have played e.g., Helldivers 2 recently, you can spot the similarities definitely in terms of jumping in and out for missions).Note! This is a constructive analysis and review with all good and “bad” laid out to discuss and analyze this game and its current state properly. This post’s intention is not to judge and point any fingers — the intention is solely to educate and discuss about the game and its current state in a professional manner, and give pointers for my readers on where this type’s of game’s strengths and challenges […]

Antti Kananen March 27

Journal

$300K a Day: Rivergame’s Last Z Survival Shooter

Rivergame's Last Z Survival Shooter scaled to $300K a day in revenue. This time they used the Tap4Fun's Top Girl spin on the onboarding. How can they scale so many games so fast? 😵 The game is done again in their now signature template, of hypercasual runner/shooter during onboarding and then transitions to 4X. Except this time, we have AI-generated girls on top. The 4X engine ⚔️ that they are perfecting since releasing Top War in 2019 is just getting better and better with every next game they release. The game is now landscape instead of portrait, contrary to the rest of their portfolio, but it works even better because of the AI girls functionality they are focusing on. And let me tell you that they supercharged ⚡ what Top Girl did and turned it into their own AI-powered version […]

Jakub Remiar March 27

Journal

Offerwalls: What is it for Publishers and Advertisers?

Ad El Dorado - Inside the Incentivized Ad Platforms Quest for Gold Gold Diggers, Welcome! The number of Incentive Ad Platforms or offerwall solutions has significantly increased in the last couple of years. I remember that back in 2017, the only options for publishers looking for offerwalls solutions were relegated to two choices: Fyber and Tapjoy. Now, it’s 2025, and according to Paul Bowen’s Data Baseon Incentivized ad platforms, you can choose from 19 companies. That’s 8x more companies in 8 years. So, this week, I want to break down the different types of offerwalls available to publishers and break down common pitfalls publishers face when chasing these golden gains. 🤔What is an Offerwall?🤔 Easy - A publisher integrates an offerwall where their users can see a list of offers they can complete for in-game currency. The offers can range […]

Felix Braberg March 27

Journal

Custom Store Listing for World Eternal Online

We did a super fun creative test with Core Loop for World Eternal Online. The goal? Come up with new art styles for the game and see how they perform compared to the original, in terms of audience appeal and campaign results.To bring it all to life, we leaned heavily on AI:🧠 ChatGPT helped us write character prompts🎨 Midjourney turned those into awesome character designs🎥 Pika, Kling and Creatify helped animate everything into ad-ready creativesBut it didn’t stop there.We used the AI art to build dedicated Custom Store Listings on Google Play, complete with unique icons and screenshots for each visual style. Then we ran a Meta campaign to send traffic to each version and measure the differences in audience behavior and conversion rates.The result? Two totally different visual vibes. Two different types of players. Tons of insights for further […]

Richard Kos March 27

Highlights

Influencer Marketing Framework

🧩 Your Influencer Marketing strategy won’t be scalable unless you follow a framework. Here’s Step 1 of the 3-step formula: The first stage is always all about gathering knowledge.- Start small, working with Nano and Micro Influencers- Identify initial content verticals based on your target demos- Test the potential of these verticals and sub-verticals- Examine data at scale to identify which verticals are worth scaling withWhen you have sufficient data to make reliable conclusions about a vertical's potential: Move on to Phase 2: Optimisation. 🧩 Profitably scaling Influencer Marketing - Optimisation. Phase 2 is where you optimise the creatives you use to actually convert the audiences in these niches.This involves iterating with- Visual elements of the integration- Talking points- CTAs- Different Live Ops and events- Initial additional incentives like gift codesOnce you've figured out the optimal setup, you can move onto […]

Marion Balinoff March 26

Highlights

Is CPI the new ROAS?

In mobile gaming user acquisition, return on ad spend (ROAS) hasn’t always been the go-to metric for success. Before ROAS took centre stage, cost per install (CPI) was the primary focus, with advertisers optimizing for the lowest CPI possible without much thought to what happened post-install.Then, as attribution improved, the industry shifted toward measuring D7 ROAS as a key performance indicator. This provided an early read on whether a cohort of installs would eventually break even. Over time, predictive lifetime value (LTV) models layered onto this, helping publishers refine their forecasts and ensure long-term profitability.Now, in a post-Zero Interest-Rate Policy (ZIRP) world, CPI is making a comeback alongside ROAS as gaming companies sharpen their focus on efficiency and profitability. Let’s explore why.The Risk of Unchecked CPIEvery mobile publisher operates under a simple equation:LTV - CPI = ProfitThe challenge? LTV isn’t […]

Paul Bowen March 26

#Marketing

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