Gaming Advertising Statistics 2026: In-Game Ads, UA Costs & Brand Spend
The gaming industry spent $25 billion on mobile user acquisition. Mobile game advertising revenue exceeded $12 billion.
Gaming advertising spans two very different markets — in-game advertising (brands placing ads inside games) and mobile user acquisition (publishers buying ads to find new players). The gaming industry spent $25 billion on mobile user acquisition in 2025 alone (AppsFlyer). Mobile game advertising revenue exceeded $12 billion in 2025. Market-research estimates for in-game advertising span $9–119 billion depending on scope. 65% of mobile gamers accept ads. Rewarded video completion rate reached 75.8%. AppLovin and AdMob control 65% of mobile game ad revenue.
Key statistics
- $25 billion — global mobile gaming user-acquisition (UA) spend in 2025, +3.8% YoY (AppsFlyer State of Gaming for Marketers 2026).
- $12 billion+ — mobile game ad revenue in 19 tracked markets in 2025 (a conservative floor, not a global total).
- 2.4 trillion — mobile game ad impressions in 2025, same 19-market scope.
- 24.6 billion — downloads of ad-monetized mobile games in 2025.
- 65% — combined mobile game ad revenue share for AppLovin + AdMob, May 2026.
- 75.8% — rewarded video ad completion rate.
- 71% — gamers who prefer in-game video ads to making in-app purchases (AdPushup).
- $4.70 — average iOS mobile game CPI benchmark.
- $3.40 — average Android mobile game CPI in 2026.
- $5.28 — average North American mobile app CPI, the most expensive region (2024).
The scope problem: what “in-game advertising” actually means
Mobile game ad revenue exceeded an estimated $12 billion in 2025:
| Scope | 2025 market size |
|---|---|
| Gaming-specific in-game ads (mobile game ad revenue) | $12B+ |
In-game advertising
Mobile game ads: $12B+ revenue floor and 2.4 trillion impressions in 2025 (19 markets)
Ad monetization metrics (19 countries with panel coverage):
- Mobile game ad revenue exceeded $12 billion in 2025 in those markets — a floor, not full global ad spend.
- This growth occurred as IAP monetisation stagnated, pushing publishers toward advertising as the incremental revenue model.
- 24.6 billion downloads of ad-monetised mobile games in 2025 alone.
- Peak download month: January 2026 at 2.33 billion.
In-game advertising formats (market share by revenue):
- Static ads: billboards, banners, and fixed placements within game environments — 51.1% of market in 2023.
- Dynamic ads: programmatically updated real-time ad placements (e.g., virtual billboards showing current real-world brands).
- Rewarded video: opt-in video ads in exchange for in-game rewards.
- Advergaming: entire games built around a brand as the core mechanic.
- Interstitials: full-screen ads between game sessions.
By device:
- PC/laptop: 51–70.5% of in-game advertising market share — reflecting the ad-supported free-to-play PC gaming ecosystem.
- Smartphone/tablet: the fastest-growing segment; driven by hypercasual and casual mobile game explosion.
US market specifically (Research and Markets):
- US in-game advertising market: $7.91 billion in 2024, projected to reach $13.74 billion by 2030 at 9.7% CAGR.
- North America held 38.3% of global in-game advertising market share in 2023.
AppLovin and AdMob dominance (May 2026):
- These two ad networks control 65% of all mobile game advertising revenue — up from 61% eighteen months prior.
- Concentration is increasing, not decreasing. The ad network market is consolidating around AppLovin (APPLOVIN: +730% stock gain in 2024) and Google’s AdMob.
Rewarded video ads
75.8% completion rate — the most gamer-preferred ad format
Rewarded video ads offer in-game rewards (virtual currency, extra lives, power-ups) in exchange for watching a 15–30 second unskippable video. They are consistently the top-performing and most gamer-preferred ad format.
Performance metrics:
- 75.8% — video completion rate for rewarded video ads (Embryo).
- 2× — rewarded video ads are twice as effective as interstitial ads (Applixir).
- 38% higher than average engagement rate vs standard video ads (Unity/IronSource case study).
- 41% average revenue increase for developers after implementing rewarded video (Venatus).
- 20–40% revenue increase range reported by publishers adding rewarded ads.
Gamer preferences:
- 71% of gamers prefer in-game video ads to making in-app purchases (AdPushup).
- 75% of mobile gamers consider rewarded video ads “less disruptive” than other formats (Applixir).
- 53% of gamers play for longer because of in-game rewards.
- 84% of gamers would adopt a new game advertised to them with tangible rewards.
- 50% of gamers would be less satisfied if rewarded video ads were removed (AdMob/Google).
IAB finding (Internet Advertising Bureau — the industry’s primary advertising standards body):
- Over 80% of users prefer rewarded video as an advertising format — the highest preference rate of any ad format tested.
Retention impact:
- Gamers who watched a rewarded video in their first week had a 53% retention rate — more than 300% higher than the average.
- Players who engage with rewarded video retain at rates 20–30% higher than non-engaged players (Layer.ai).
Revenue impact (AdMob case study — Avid.ly):
- After implementing rewarded ads, users bought in-app items 18% more often.
- Time in game increased 20%.
- Total revenue grew 40%.
Mobile user-acquisition costs
The gaming industry spent $25 billion on UA in 2025 — CPI rising across every region
Total UA spend:
- Global mobile gaming UA spend: $25 billion in 2025, up 3.8% YoY (AppsFlyer State of Gaming for Marketers 2026, based on aggregated install and spend data from ~9,600 gaming apps).
- Mobile app UA costs have risen 60% over the past five years (AdAction).
- 95%+ of installers churn within 30 days across iOS and Google Play — making retention the critical variable alongside CPI.
CPI by platform (2026):
- iOS average CPI: $4.70 per install.
- Android average CPI: $3.40 per install.
- The iOS/Android gap is narrowing as Android privacy restrictions tighten.
CPI by region (2026):
| Region | Average CPI | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| North America | $5.28 | +31% |
| EMEA | $1.03 | +47% (sharp increase) |
| APAC | $0.93 | Moderate increase |
| Latin America | $0.34 | +40% |
CPI by mobile game genre (2026):
| Genre | iOS CPI | Android CPI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hypercasual | $1.50–2.50 | $0.40 | Volume model; ad-monetised |
| Casual / Hybrid-casual | $1.41–3.00 | $0.14–0.95 | Fastest CPI growth (+38% iOS YoY) |
| Puzzle | $3.00 | $2.00 | High download volume, decent LTV |
| Simulation | $3.75 | $2.50 | Growing genre |
| Strategy / Midcore | $5.50 | $4.00 | High LTV justifies cost |
| RPG / Hardcore | $6.00 | $4.50 | Expensive; highest LTV users |
| Casino / Slots | High (CPM $12+) | High | 11:1 paid-to-organic install ratio |
The retention reality (AdAction):
- Industry-wide D30 retention: 3–7% across categories.
- D7 retention on iOS: approximately 6.9%; Android: 5.2%.
- A $4.00 CPI with 5% D30 retention = $80 cost per retained user.
- A $6.00 CPI with 15% D30 retention = $40 cost per retained user.
The implication: CPI as a standalone metric is often misleading. Cost per retained user — which most studios don’t track — is the operationally relevant number.
iOS ATT impact:
- Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT, iOS 14.5+) reduced user-level targeting data.
- iOS CPI has increased 20–30% since ATT launched.
- Apple Search Ads now accounts for over 50% of iOS app advertising spend — the biggest beneficiary of ATT, since it operates within the App Store ecosystem.
Ad-supported gaming
65% of mobile gamers accept ads — hybrid monetisation is now standard
- 65–75% of mobile gamers accept in-game ads.
- 70%+ of mobile gamers are “happy to see ads show up in gameplay” (IronSource study).
- Ad-supported titles drove 24.6 billion ad-monetized game downloads in 2025.
Hybrid monetisation (IAP + ads combined) is now the dominant model among successful mobile games:
- Purely IAP-funded games are declining as a proportion of the market.
- Purely ad-funded games (hypercasual) generate low revenue per download.
- The fastest-growing monetisation segment is hybrid-casual — games combining casual download appeal with IAP depth, supplemented by rewarded video.
Ad-supported vs IAP revenue composition (2025):
- Mobile game IAP revenue: $81.75 billion.
- Mobile game ad revenue: $12 billion+.
- Ad revenue is approximately 13–15% of total mobile game revenue — but growing faster than IAP.
Brand spending in gaming
Esports sponsorship reached $874 million worldwide in 2024
- North America accounts for 38.3% of global in-game advertising revenue — concentrated in premium brand spending.
- Esports sponsorship — a related brand spend category — reached $874 million globally in 2024, with brands like Red Bull, Mercedes-Benz, and Intel as major investors.
- TikTok gaming: TikTok users download 50% more games and play longer than non-TikTok users. Gaming advertisers on TikTok pay CPI of $1.75–$4.00 depending on campaign.
Historical milestones
- 2021Apple ATT (iOS 14.5) disrupts mobile UA; CPI volatility increases. Gaming UA spend: ~$15 billion.
- 202145.1% of mobile games carry ad monetisation.
- 2022AppLovin’s acquisition of MoPub (Twitter’s ad exchange) expands its gaming ad dominance.
- 2024AppLovin stock surges 730%; gaming ad duopoly (AppLovin + AdMob) solidifies at 61% combined share.
- 2025UA spend: $25 billion (AppsFlyer). Mobile game ad revenue: $12B+ in 19 markets.
- May 2026AppLovin + AdMob at 65% combined mobile game ad revenue share.