Free-to-play games rule the app stores, yet many developers still Google how much do mobile games make per ad. The question matters because ads now sit beside in-app purchases as a core money source. Data.ai expects mobile players to spend $111.4 billion worldwide in 2024, even after a tough 2023 dip. A fresh Gamesforum evidence found a near 50% split between ad income and purchase income across a $226 billion mobile market, proof that ads pay half the bills for many studios.
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But rates swing wildly. A banner can bring pennies, while a rewarded video or offerwall can shoot past $400 eCPM. That gap fuels every thread about how much money do mobile games make per ad. The rest of this guide breaks down the ad formats, the cash they bring, and the levers that raise or drop returns, so you can set real goals instead of guessing.
Key Types of Mobile Game Ads & Explanation on How Each of Them Work
Below are the main formats that drive mobile game ad revenue. Each H3 explains the mechanics and shows a real-world figure so you can judge how much do mobile game ads pay today.
Type #1. Banner Ads
Small image strips that sit at the top or bottom of the screen and refresh every 30 seconds. They earn a low but steady income while gameplay continues. Udonis data shows a U.S. Android banner averages $0.60 eCPM, far below other formats.
Example: Think of a scrolling news ticker under a TV show, always present, rarely intrusive.
Type #2. Interstitial Ads
Full-screen images or videos that appear at natural pauses—after a level or during a load screen. Because the player must close the ad, brands pay more. U.S. Android interstitials average about $11 eCPM.
How it works: The game triggers a request, an ad network returns the highest bid, and the creative fills the screen. Good pacing (no more than one per two minutes) keeps churn low.
Type #3. Rewarded Video Ads
Opt-in videos that trade thirty seconds of attention for in-game currency, lives, or boosts. U.S. eCPM hits $13 on average, and completion rates top 75%. Players start the ad, so satisfaction stays high and retention rises.
Example: A racing game offers extra fuel if you watch a short car-care spot. Most users accept, the studio earns, and play continues.
Type #4. Offerwall Ads
A scrollable list of tasks, install an app, finish a survey, for large rewards. Tapjoy reports average offerwall eCPM around $400, with peaks above $1,500 in top-tier regions. Because payouts are high, studios limit access to avoid devaluing items.
Type #5. Playable or Interactive Ads
Mini-demos that let users try another game for a few seconds. They sit inside interstitial slots but pay more because engagement rates are strong. Industry trackers put playable eCPM between $20 and $60, depending on genre and region.
No single format answers how much do mobile games make per ad. Banners bring steady cents, while offerwalls can jump above $400 eCPM. Interstitials and playable land in the middle, and rewarded video combines high pay with happy players. Together, these choices shape the overall mobile game ads revenue. Track each slot in real time and route demand through a programmatic ad exchange or your own white-label SSP to capture the best bids. Next, we’ll look at average earnings per impression and the factors that push mobile game advertising revenue up or down.
Average Revenue Per Ad Impression
Knowing how much do mobile games make per ad comes down to one figure: eCPM, the cash a studio earns per 1,000 views. Below, we break out the main formats so you can see how much money do mobile games make per ad and choose the mix that lifts total mobile game ad revenue. The numbers below use 2024–2025 benchmarks from Udonis, Tapjoy, and other industry trackers.
Type #1. Banner eCPM
Banners keep the lights on but rarely wow the balance sheet. A U.S. Android banner averages $0.60 eCPM, meaning how much do mobile game ads pay here is less than a dollar per thousand views.
Quick tip: Place banners on menu screens, not during live play, to avoid churn without losing the trickle income.
Type #2. Interstitial eCPM
Full-screen breaks pay far more. Udonis puts U.S. Android interstitials at about $11 eCPM. Show one every two or three levels to balance cash with user flow.
Type #3. Rewarded Video eCPM
Opt-in videos sit at the sweet spot of profit and player goodwill. The same Udonis data shows U.S. rewarded units at roughly $13 eCPM with 75% completion. Give fair, game-changing rewards and watch engagement climb.
Type #4. Offerwall eCPM
Offerwalls crush every other unit on the pure payout. Tapjoy’s 2024 study pegs average revenue at $400 eCPM, with peaks past $1,500 in top regions. Limit access so the economy stays balanced, and plug the wall into a white-label SSP to funnel premium demand.
Type #5. Playable eCPM
Interactive demos reward curiosity and deliver mid-tier income. Industry guides show $10 – $30 eCPM for playables, close to rewarded video but with higher install intent. Pair them with a programmatic ad exchange to grab extra bids from UA teams.
Key takeaway: Different formats drive very different slices of mobile game advertising revenue. Mixing steady banners with high-value opt-ins answers how much do games make from ads in the real world, often far more than any single unit alone.
| Ad Type | Average eCPM |
| Banner | $0.60 |
| Interstitial | $11 |
| Rewarded Video | $13 |
| Offerwall | $400 (peaks $1,500) |
| Playable | $10-30 |
Use these benchmarks as a starting point, then test in your own build. Route demand through a demand-side platform or SSP waterfall, track fill and eCPM daily and adjust placements every sprint to keep mobile game ads revenue on an upward path.
What Affects Mobile Game Advertising Revenue?
Many levers shape mobile game advertising revenue. Picture a sound-mixing board: move one slider, and the whole track changes. Below are the biggest dials you can turn.
Player Location and Device
Where a player lives and what phone they use set the starting price for every ad. A U.S. iPhone click can pay far more than an Android tap in Southeast Asia.
- eCPMs swing by market. MonetizeMore’s 2025 data shows U.S. app-open ads peaking at $10.51 while Vietnam clears $2.34, a 4× gap.
- iOS often pays more than Android because spenders cluster there, yet Apple’s privacy rules trimmed iOS’s share of ad spending from 50% to 37% right after ATT.
Watch your dashboards. Raise floors in high-pay regions and trim bids where returns fall. Tiny tweaks by country and OS can add 30% or more to profit.
Ad Format and Placement
Not every slot on the screen pulls the same cash. A tiny banner at the bottom never matches a full-screen video between levels.
- Offerwalls can hit $400 eCPM, banners sit near $0.60.
- Rewarded video earns only if the reward matters; weak perks drop completion and pay.
- Poor pacing, an interstitial every 20 seconds, kills retention and slices lifetime value.
Test, move, and test again. The right mix of offerwalls, rewarded video, and well-timed interstitials will lift eCPM without hurting play.
Session Length and Engagement
Longer play means more chances to show ads. Simple as that.
- Unity’s 2024 report found global ad engagement up 3.2% year over year; longer sessions mean more impressions to sell.
- High churn (Android day-30 churn 97%) drains inventory before it can mature.
Add fresh goals, events, or rewards. Keep people active, and ad views climb right beside engagement.
Fill Rate and Mediation Stack
An empty request is a waste of money. Fill rate measures how many times an ad actually appears when you ask for one.
- Every empty impression is lost money. Think of airplane seats: unsold seats still cost fuel. An SSP waterfall or white label SSP routes demand so that more seats fill.
- Header bidding inside a programmatic ad exchange lifts eCPM by pitting buyers against each other in real-time.
Use a strong waterfall or a white-label SSP to pull bids from every buyer. Aim for 99% fill so no view goes unsold.
Privacy Rules and Targeting Signals
New privacy rules can cut targeting data overnight, slashing bid prices in the process.
- Apple’s ATT cut user-level data; Harvard Business Review notes a 38.3% spike in customer-acquisition costs the year after launch, with gaming efficiency down 35%.
- Google’s Privacy Sandbox will tighten Android IDs next, so diversify toward contextual signals early.
Collect first-party data, lean on contextual signals, and stay ready for the next rule change. Protecting signal quality protects your mobile game ad revenue.
Quick actions to raise revenue
- Test high-value formats first: rewarded, playable, and offerwall.
- Segment by region and bid floor; don’t let low-pay markets drag down averages.
- Use a demand-side platform plus mediation to hit 99% fill.
- Re-engage lapsed users; every extra minute boosts ad inventory.
Location, format mix, engagement, tech stack, and privacy all decide how much do games make from ads. Control these knobs, and your mobile game ads revenue climbs from pennies to dollars per player.
How Much Do Top Games Make from Ads?
Ads pay real bills. Below is a snapshot of what big-name and fast-rising titles earn from impressions alone. Use it as a gut check when you ask how much do mobile games make per ad.
- Subway Surfers. Lifetime revenue tops $165 million, and analysts note ads make up a hefty share of that total. The endless runner ships more than a billion ad impressions every month, giving SYBO a steady seven-figure stream.
- Flappy Bird. At its 2013 peak, the one-tap hit pulled in about $50,000 every day from banner and interstitial ads. A 2023 retrospective confirmed the figure still stands as one of the fastest ad windfalls in mobile history.
- Screw Jam (Rollic). In Q2 2024, this hyper-casual puzzler hit a weekly high of $519,000 on iOS US charts. Hyper-casual studios rely on ads for nearly all takings, so most of that number is pure mobile game ad revenue.
- Triple Master 3D. The same Sensor Tower report shows weekly income sliding from $75,000 to $57,000 across the quarter. Even so, the title sells mainly rewarded and interstitial slots, proving mid-tier hits can clear five figures a week from ads alone.
- Tangle Rope. This physics puzzler grew from $31,000 to $69,000 in weekly revenue by late June 2024, matching its steady climb in downloads and ad views.
- Uboat Attack. Voodoo’s sub-shooter kept a stable line near $35,000 per week while serving half-a-million active users. A long shelf life and constant ads turn small eCPMs into six-figure yearly totals.
Big names pull millions, but even niche hyper-casual games can clear five to six figures a week when fill rate and retention stay healthy. Hooking into a programmatic ad exchange or your own white-label SSP widens demand and pushes bids higher.
Final Thoughts
We opened with why everyone wonders how much money do mobile games make per ad, walked through each format, broke down average eCPMs, unpacked the levers that move rates, and finished with real earnings from top games. The lesson is simple: pick the right mix, watch the data daily, and your mobile game advertising revenue can climb from cents to dollars per user.
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FAQ
How much do mobile games make from rewarded ads?
Rewarded video averages about $13 eCPM in the US; top titles can double that with strong completion rates.
Which ad type pays the most in mobile games?
Offerwalls lead the pack, often topping $400 eCPM, with peaks above $1,500 in tier-one markets.
Does mobile game ad revenue vary by country?
Yes. A US impression can pay 4× what the same unit earns in Vietnam, so geo-pricing is key.
How much do games make from ads daily or monthly?
Small hyper-casual hits pull $30,000–$70,000 a week; giants like Subway Surfers land seven-figure months.
Can a mobile game make money only from ads without in-app purchases
Absolutely. Crossy Road, Flappy Bird, and many Rollic titles prove that a pure-ads model can reach millions in profit.
