In-Game Advertising: How to Drive Revenue for Mobile Games

When it comes to in-game advertising, we’re talking about maybe the key monetization strategy for mobile game developers.

Alongside in-app purchases (IAPs) and subscriptions, ads can boost your title’s revenue…if handled correctly.

Too many ads or poorly placed ones can have adverse effects. They can distract players, frustrate them, or push them to quit the game entirely.

To find the right balance, let’s explore the best in-game ad formats, practices, and tools to refine your in-game advertising strategy.

In-Game Advertising: Current Market

In 2024, revenue from the worldwide gaming market was estimated at about $455 billion. with Mobile gaming contributed about $98.7 billion to that total.

In-game advertising is projected to grow from $10.34 billion in 2025 to $29.38 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 12.30%.

Some of the contributing factors to these figures include:

• Cheaper advertising
• A rise in popularity in social and mobile gaming
• Simple ad setting
• Quick integration.

The current big players for in-game ads are Google, Anzu Virtual Reality, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and IronSource.

As a result of the current market, there are many upsides to effective in-game advertising.

What Are the Benefits of In-Game Advertising?

In-game ads can benefit two key mobile game stakeholders: Developers and advertisers.

Benefits for Game Developers	Benefits for Advertisers
Can boost in-app purchases by 6x	Can promote brand safety
Can generate more ad revenue	Can measure ROI easily
Can improve the user experience	Can widen reach
Can increase player engagement and retention

But what types of in-game ads are most relevant to your game?

In-Game Ad Formats

Developers and advertisers can leverage many ad formats to maximize their game’s success. They generally fall into two broad umbrella categories: Dynamic ads and static ones.

Dynamic In-Game Ads

What’s awesome about dynamic in-game ads is that they can basically be updated at any time. Here are some classic examples of dynamic in-game ads.

Playable Ads

These in-game ads give players the chance to get a teaser of the game before committing to a full download.

Playable ads have immense potential to:

• Immediately hook the consumer
• Provide a positive user experience fresh off the bat
• Deliver industry-high eCPMs.

Games with some of the top-performing playable ads include: Royal Match, Zen Match, War Machines, Blackout Bingo, and Tiles Hop: EDM Rush.

Interstitial Ads

One of the main criticisms of ads (in general) is that they can be disruptive. However, interstitial ads minimize these risks because of where they are placed.

Developers and advertisers choose natural pauses to insert enriching static or video ads.

Interstitial ads are capable of generating high impressions and conversions. In fact, they are nearly a third likelier to convert than banner ads.

Rewarded Video Ads

Many mobile game players can be motivated to keep playing if they receive a reward. And certain video ads do just that. Players are presented with a video and have to watch it in its entirety to claim a reward.

Rewarded video ads are the most commonly used in-game ad format (used by 82% of developers). But also, 89% of players prefer rewarded video ads over IAPs.

Effective rewarded video ad placements (plus examples) include:

Example	Game	How it Works
In-game currencies	Subway Surfers	Watch an ad to claim daily rewards (in-game currency).
Boosters	Clash Royale	Watch an ad to unlock chests more quickly.
Extra lives	Royal Match	Watch an ad to gain extra moves or lives.
Reward multipliers	Hexa Sort	Can multiply rewards via video ads.
Revivals	Pikmin Bloom	AR game that lets players watch video ads to receive in-game items to revive their Pikmin.

Other Dynamic In-Game Ads

Some more dynamic ad formats include:

• Banner ads: Displays static or dynamic ads at the top or bottom of the game.
• Contextual ads: Matched to relevant content and topics based on user algorithms.
• Offerwalls: A virtual wall that lets players perform actions such as filling out surveys or installing other apps.

Static In-Game Ads

Advertisers usually collaborate with developers to integrate these ads during the development process.

Typically, static ads appear in the form of product placement. They appear in the game on signs, billboards, and other static environments.

Dynamic ads are used more widely than static ones. However, the latter are becoming increasingly popular. So much so that they are projected to generate approximately $6.37 billion by 2028.

In-Game Advertising: Best Practices

To get the most out of your in-game ads, implement the following practices:

• Choose the right ad formats: Different games benefit from different formats. For example, rewarded videos are ideal for match-3 and puzzle games. Offerwalls are better for strategy titles.
• Player segmentation: Break up your player base into segments to tailor your ad experience. For example, include fewer ads for players who make IAPs more frequently.
• A/B test your ads: Experiment with ad formats, placement, capping, and frequency.
• Use predictive analytics: Leverage historical data to project future player behavior, identify trends, and optimize advertising/monetization strategies.

But how exactly do you implement these tactics?

Maximize Your In-Game Ad Success With the Right Tools

To ensure your in-game ads are set up for success, it’s essential to have the right tools at your disposal. These include:

• Keewano: Purpose-built for mobile games. Provides real-time, AI-driven recommendations to optimize ad placements and engagement.
• AdMob: Google-powered platform that allows developers to integrate ads into games.
• AppLovin: Helps developers market/monetize games through mobile ads and analytics.
• ironSource: Used for integrating interstitial/rewarded ads while boosting ad revenue.
• Unity Ads: Ideal for game developers. Provides native ad integration.

There are many other tools out there that might be the right fit for your in-game advertising needs. But if you choose correctly, you can create a seamless ad experience that increases revenue, engagement, and retention simultaneously.