Hardcore and midcore mobile game publishers can introduce in-app ads without compromising the player experience or existing revenue, as long as they give careful attention to how ads are integrated. This blog and downloadable guide present the top success factors for in-app ads in a hardcore or midcore mobile game.
Why introduce app ads?
More than 75% of player time spent globally is in hardcore and midcore games, according to the App Annie report: Ad Monetization in Mobile Games -- The Untapped Potential (among the top 100 games with an ad SDK, by MAU, Jan 2019 - Dec 2019).
Naturally, you want to diversify your revenue stream for the players spending the most time in your games. And while in-app purchase (IAP) and paid mobile game revenue is expected to level off at just 6.2% spending growth, ad revenues are thriving at a healthy expansion rate of 26% per year to reach an expected $45.2 billion by 2023 (IDC, Mobile Worldwide In-Game Advertising Forecast, 2019-2023, Dec 2019).
Success with a combination of IAP and ads is best achieved by choosing the right ad formats and entry points, along with effectively measuring and optimizing performance.
As a summary, here are a few of the best practices covered in the guide, along with tips from game publishers around the globe who are seeing success with in app-ads in mobile games.
To empower you with a winning strategy for integrating in-app ads for hardcore and midcore games, we put together our top Success Factors in a useful guide you can download below.
Use rewarded video ads
For hardcore and midcore games, rewarded video is an effective format for maximizing revenue as well as player experience, since it offers a clear value exchange.
After struggling to monetize Game of Sultans solely with in-app purchases, Jinxi Yang, Director of Publishing at Mechanist Games, tested Audience Network rewarded video ads. Not only did eCPMs rise 30%, but over the long-term in-app purchase revenue grew as well.
“Audience Network rewarded video ads were high-quality, and helped us boost our eCPM and fill rates without interfering with our players’ gaming experiences,” Yang said. “In-app ads, coupled with in-app purchases, provided us with an optimal way of earning higher revenue, while allowing us to focus on game development.”
Integrate the right entry points
When building rewarded video ads into a hardcore or midcore game, success depends partly on use of the entry points that best fit your game. There are three key elements to consider:
Common placements: Where to insert rewarded video ads in your hardcore or midcore game
Design innovation: How to make entry points attractive enough to draw players’ attention
Value exchange: What players receive by opting into rewarded video ads
In our guide, we’ve included common entry point examples and publisher quotes, plus a list of questions to help you customize a rewarded video strategy for your game. Here are a couple thoughts from publishers about their rewarded video sweet spots:
“In Jurassic World: The Game, we’ve had good success with battle entry points, where the player watches a video ad to earn entry to the battle,” said Rose Agozzino, senior marketing specialist for Ludia. “This works particularly well with battle tournaments on weekends, when the activity almost doubles.”
“Each placement is closely tied to the core game loop with a meaningful reward and is customized to fit the game with the according narrative and visual elements,” said Jan Pollack, Senior Ad Monetization Manager at Wooga -- a story-based casual game developer that relies heavily on rewarded video.
Optimize for revenue and retention
Tracking performance is key to ensuring the incremental revenue impact of in-app ads. As you benchmark and compare results for ARPDAU and retention, you’ll be able to identify and optimize the ad placements in your game.
Our guide offers tips for testing your first game, plus more detail on how to analyze rewarded video discoverability, determine ad frequency and reinvest in user acquisition to drive growth.
Hardcore publisher Leiting proved that rewarded video ads can have a positive impact on both revenue and retention. After adopting a hybrid monetization model for Pixel Z, they saw an 11% increase in player retention.
Rich Chen, General Manager at Leiting shared: “With the help of Audience Network, we were not only able to ensure a consistent stream of ads in all of our games, resulting in an overall revenue increase, but to also maintain a non-intrusive ad experience for gamers. Thanks to the success we’ve seen thus far, we plan to continue the implementation of rewarded videos and in-app purchases.”
Learn more success factors
As you introduce ads to your hardcore or midcore game, you want to ensure your integrations drive revenue, delight players, and support your user acquisition efforts. Learn additional success factors with sample placements in our comprehensive guide, Winning in Hardcore and Midcore Mobile Games: Success Factors for Rewarded Video.
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