With less than ten days left in 2025, the holiday season, and the most important year-end advertising window, Christmas and New Year, are just around the corner.
SocialPeta takes a look at the latest mobile game user acquisition trends and highlights the creative strategies that are driving success this festive season.
A review of high-performing Christmas-themed creatives from December 2024 and this December shows a clear shift: AI-generated content now dominates the top-performing campaigns.
Last year, most creatives relied on live-action voiceovers or in-game gameplay with festive elements. In 2025, nearly all of the top 10% of creatives are AI-generated, reflecting the rapid adoption of AI in mobile game marketing.
Popular AI Christmas Creative Formats
Three AI-driven creative approaches stand out this season:
1. AI-Generated Human Characters
Realistic AI characters presented in interview-style or narrative formats, set against iconic Christmas-themed backdrops.
2. AI-Generated Festive Scenes
Immersive holiday environments, such as snow-covered trains, cozy interiors with decorated Christmas trees, or lively festive streets, are designed to evoke warmth and seasonal excitement.
3. AI-Generated Santa Claus
Santa Claus remains the most recognizable symbol of Christmas. When paired with gameplay elements, this approach encourages users to download and engage during the holiday period.
How Top Games Approach Christmas Creatives
MONOPOLY GO! × Harry Potter: Driving Holiday Growth Through IP Collaboration
A top performer in revenue and advertising, MONOPOLY GO! historically relied on celebrity endorsements and high-budget live-action commercials. In 2025, the game shifted strategy, leveraging Christmas-themed cartoon visuals combined with the Harry Potter IP to refresh user interest and kick off its holiday advertising push.
Kingshot: Core Sub-Gameplay Anchored in Christmas Themes
As a rising SLG title in 2025, Kingshot took a more conservative approach. Its Christmas advertising remains centered on the “King’s Defense” sub-gameplay, with Christmas-themed live-action voiceovers and subtle seasonal enhancements rather than major creative overhauls.
Designing Effective Christmas Creatives
Visual Appeal
Balance holiday recognizability with the game’s core tone. Christmas elements should be lightly integrated to avoid clutter:
RPGs: Introduce festive skins (Santa hats, snowflake-decorated weapons) and seasonal effects like glowing trees, falling snow, or ornament explosions.
Casual match-3 games: Replace standard tiles with Christmas stockings, gingerbread men, or reindeer plushies, and enhance matches with gift box openings, falling ribbons, and festive animations.
Colors should align with the game’s style: subdued deep greens and dark reds for hardcore games, bright reds and light golds for casual titles, ensuring a festive feel without compromising brand identity.
Emotional Impact
Tap into core Christmas emotions: reunion, surprise, and warmth. Examples include:
- Friends are celebrating after completing a limited-time Christmas dungeon.
- Solo players receiving festive gifts from NPCs.
- Simulation or pet-raising games emphasizing companionship, such as pets in Christmas scarves or towns hosting holiday parades.
Communicating Benefits
Link perks to limited-time scarcity to drive action:
- Highlight key benefits in the first 3 seconds: “Free Christmas Limited Skin,” “Log in 7 Days to Unlock a Reindeer Mount,” “Double Drop Rate in Christmas Dungeons.”
- Add countdowns (e.g., “Only 5 Days Left”) for urgency.
- Visually communicate value: compare standard vs. Christmas-limited items, or show the process of opening a festive blind box.
- Use festive CTAs, such as “Claim Christmas Perks” or “Join the Christmas Party,” shaped like gift boxes or stockings to boost engagement.
Category Adaptation
Tailor creatives to gameplay type:
- Competitive games: Emphasize Christmas events and team-based rewards, showcasing collaborative achievements.
- Puzzle games: Offer Christmas escape room levels, incorporating holiday-themed challenges (assembling cards, untangling fairy lights).
Audience-specific optimization is also key: trendy memes and Christmas emojis for younger users, parent-child gameplay for family audiences.
Timing and Audio
Keep creatives 25–30 seconds:
- First 3 seconds: Grab attention
- Middle 15 seconds: Showcase benefits and gameplay
- Last 5 seconds: Reinforce CTA
Festive sound effects, Christmas carols, bells, gift box openings—enhance both visual and auditory immersion, helping users quickly understand what they gain by downloading the game and driving conversions from attraction to installation.
That concludes this Christmas creatives roundup. For more holiday advertising insights for mobile games, you can visit SocialPeta’s official website.
Wishing everyone a flood of festive creative inspiration this season!
