Video ads often appear in free-to-play games, and while some may dislike them, a lot of players benefit from viewing them, according to a new report from Unity Technologies titled, In-Game Advertising the Right Way.
The company took a closer look at video ads as a potential tool for mobile developers use for monetizing their games and gaining greater user engagement. The survey asked over 2,000 game developers and players about the relationship between video ads and how they relate to player revenue. The findings are definitely something mobile developers will want to look into.
Highlights from the report include:
- 52 percent of mobile game developers identify video ads as providing the highest revenue per user compared to any other type of in-game advertising.
- 71 percent of players prefer to watch video ads as their way to “pay” for game content (compared to in-app purchases), while 54 percent of players go with rewarded video.
- Nearly 80 percent of players admitted they’re fine with viewing video ads if it leads to rewards in the game itself.
- Less than one in ten developers polled by Unity indicated there was a retention drop after introducing rewarded video ads.
- 86 percent of developers who used integrated rewarded video ads actually saw increased in-app purchasing.
“Rewarded video ads are a key monetization and engagement method quickly growing in popularity with today’s mobile game developer community,” said Jarkko Rajamaki, director of ads for Unity Technologies. “When properly integrated into gameplay, video ads, especially rewarded video ads, have a positive impact on the player’s experience and can help developers monetize their games and increase player engagement.”
Look for this trend of video ads to continue being added to many forthcoming mobile games.
