Devlog #9 - Mobile Game Monetization

Monetizing Our Games Through Ads

Overview

As much as we love making games, we still need to sustain ourselves. That’s why monetization is a crucial part of our development process — it allows us to keep creating while making our games accessible to players.

For mobile games, we’re currently experimenting with a freemium model, combining advertisements (Ads) and in-app purchases (IAPs) as our primary monetization strategies.

In this devlog, we’ll take a look at the types of ads we’ve integrated into our games.

Our Choice for Ads

We’re not fans of invasive ads, so we set out to find a balanced approach — one that supports monetization without disrupting the player experience. After researching different ad formats, here’s what we decided:

Banner Ads (✗ - Not Implemented) - We chose not to use banner ads because they take up valuable screen space and can ruin the visual aesthetics of a mobile game.
Rewarded Ads (✓ - Implemented) - Players appreciate having a choice rather than being forced to watch ads. Rewarded ads offer an optional way for players to earn in-game currency, making them our primary ad format.
Interstitial Ads (✓) - Inspired by Crossy Road, we decided to show interstitial ads after a set number of games or a certain amount of playtime. This keeps them non-intrusive while still supporting monetization. Additionally, we also offer an IAP to remove interstitial ads for players who prefer an uninterrupted experience.

Screenshot from Crossy Road Game

In short, we’re using rewarded ads and interstitial ads as our main ad formats — aiming for a healthy balance between monetization and player enjoyment.

Our Implementation

Below are some of the key ways we incorporated advertisements in our mobile games…

As mentioned above, we took inspiration from Crossy Road and chose to show an interstitial ad after every X games played or after X minutes of playtime — whichever comes first. Here’s how we applied it in our game:

2. Daily Rewards (Rewarded)

For players who don’t wish to spend money on the game, daily rewards offer an easy way to earn in-game items and keep the game playable. To make this even more rewarding, we allow players to watch a rewarded ad to double their daily reward — completely optional, of course.

3. Daily Ads Rewards (Rewarded)

This works similarly to daily rewards, except that players must watch an ad to claim the reward. The key difference is that the reward is always tied to watching an advertisement — making it a simple way to offer small bonuses while supporting monetization.

4. Double Rewards (Rewarded)

Lastly, after each game, players can choose to watch a rewarded ad and double their hard-earned rewards!

And that’s it! These are the four key ways we incorporated advertisements into our mobile game. These are models I personally like from games I’ve played, so I decided to include them in our build. Whether they’ll convert into revenue — well, that’s something I’m still testing. Hopefully, they will!

Guides / References

If you’re new to ad implementation, I highly recommend checking out Mir’s tutorial — it’s a great starting point for learning how to integrate ads into a game.