Of course, with these incentives, mobile game makers sometimes play fast and loose with the ads for those games.ĭive into Reddit or any mobile-gaming forum of choice and you’ll find threads about how some ads are downright deceptive. Those who do spend money sometimes end up spending ridiculous amounts. Which means it pays off in those games to just keep you playing and watching ads, even if you’re not buying anything. For the Hyper-Casual and Casual games, ads are beating out in-app purchases.

They also make money selling in-app purchases, which are structured to “help” you beat the game. So the game maker’s game plan is simple: make a game that looks fun to play and has enough breaks in the action to show you ads for other games. Advertisers make even more in a country like Japan. That’s a lot of money for just one download, and that's just in the United States. While a Casual game on Android might net an advertiser just $1.38, a Casino game on iOS can be worth over $4. And which ads happen to be lucrative? Ads to get you to download other games. (Source: Appsflyer)Īccording to a report by Appsflyer, more than half of the revenue of Casual games comes from in-game advertising.

In-App-Purchases in Casual games shows a significant shift in the last year. Does anyone really understand algorithms?) This chart of In-App-Ads vs. That’s what they are called in the business.) These are those often super-simple games that fill up Instagram feeds with their promotions if you so much as look at one of their ads too long. While every game maker wishes their latest release is the next 'Fortnite', the vast sea of games fall into the “Casual” and “Hyper-Casual” categories. That's because the business model of games like 'Fortnite' makes sense: people pay Epic Games directly for all the in-game stuff to customize their game, and the game is so popular that big brands - like Marvel - use the game as a marketing platform. But with even the most popular console and PC games - cough 'Fortnite' cough - using a version of the freemium model, the days of paying up front for video games seem to be heading into the sunset. Before games relied on the “freemium” model, people, you know, paid for them.

Things didn't always used to be this way. Other games that will, in turn, show you ads for yet more games. The weirdest part: they tend to be ads for other games. Ads just hanging out at the bottom of the screen, getting in the way of your thumb. Ads offered up as a way to unlock bonuses. Los Angeles, CA - If you've ever played a game on your phone - and really, who hasn't - you've probably seen a fleet of ads.

Homescapes ads