How the Top Mobile Football Games Apply Ad Monetization

Along with IAP revenue, monetizing user’s attention by showing them in-game ads is a significant way of increasing revenue for a host of mobile game categories. The tricky part of in-game advertising is its implementation, as this demands a solid understanding of

• how ad providers work,
• how a user will react when they come across an in-game advertisement,
• and what impact this can have on the IAP economy.

A part of our latest report on the mobile football category deals with how games from this category use ads to monetize their users while avoiding the always lurking pitfalls of IAP cannibalization. While there are best practices a developer should follow, the use and optimization of in-game ads ultimately require careful customization for each game.

Rewarded Video Ads

By far the most prevalent method of ad monetization in football games is rewarded video ads—almost all of the top-grossing games incentivize users to watch an ad and receive a reward in return.

Accessibility of Ads

The two top simulation games either do not provide any kind of ads to their users (eFootball PES), or they position ads on the second or a deeper level of the game interface (FIFA Soccer).

FIFA Soccer users will find ads sprinkled throughout the game, including special events, the game’s store, or as part of daily events.

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