Casual mobile games dominates number of advertisers at 28%

Anne Freer | February 21, 2023

App Business

Mobile marketers are increasingly discovering the power of mobile game advertising with the number of advertisers rising by almost 18% in 2022 over the previous year. That’s according to new research from SocialPeta which took a closer look into global mobile game marketing. Let’s dive in. 

All eyes on casual

Despite the increase in mobile gaming advertisers, they created 16% fewer creatives at 12 million. However, creatives grew 7% quarter-on-quarter throughout 2022. 

Active game advertisers and creatives in 2021 and 2022

Source: Social Peta

The casual genre attracted the majority of advertisers with 28%, which is a rise of 3%, followed by puzzle (12%) and simulation (9%). 

Adventure titles attracted just 4% of advertisers, being the genre with the least interest, while arcade games saw the steepest decline falling almost 2% to 6%. 

The casual genre also dominated the number of creatives which grew 5% to 23%. Puzzle titles also noticed a growth in advertisers at 0.3% to 13%. RPG noted the steepest decline at 2%. 

Percentage of advertisers by game genre

Source: Social Peta

Regional and platform differences 

North America attracted the highest monthly average number of advertisers, 25% higher than Europe. Southeast Asia, Macao and Taiwan scored highest for number of creatives at an average of 300 pieces of advertising materials per month. 

iOS recorded a steady rise in advertising. Nearly 40% of all gaming advertisers in Q4 2022 were on iOS. However, Android wins for creatives where the average amount of materials was 33% higher than that on iOS. 

A closer look at casual game marketing

Downloads of casual games grew almost 9% year-on-year while revenues dropped 11%. The drop in revenue is not surprising given the economic squeeze. There were over 22,000 casual game advertisers last year – a rise of 31%. 

Casual game downloads and revenues

Source: Social Peta

In South America, casual game advertisers accounted for 31% and their creatives for 26%.

The report provides deep dives into each game genre so if you’re interested, you can check it out here. 

Key takeaways

  • The number of mobile gaming advertisers rises almost 18% in 2022 but created 16% fewer creatives 
  • The casual genre attracted the majority of advertisers with 28%, a rise of 3%
  • North America attracted the highest monthly average number of advertisers, 25% higher than Europe