Being one of the best friends of mobile game developers worldwide, Tenjin prepared a report that shows which ad networks are booming and which countries rank the best in terms of revenue in the second quarter of this year.
The infographic-based report provides valuable insights for both mobile game developers and publishers. According to the report, Android apps generated more revenue than apps on Apple’s App Store. The revenue distribution was 54% Android and %46 percent iOS, however, free-to-play mobile game developers —especially hyper-casual game makers— should keep in mind that Google’s new ad policy isn’t pushed out yet, and the ad revenue distribution may change drastically in Q3 2022 unless these mobile game makers adjust their monetization strategies accordingly.
iOS used to be the dominating platform in terms of mobile ad revenue, however, not too long ago, Apple restrained the tracking capabilities of advertisers and allowed its users to opt out of data sharing with them. This caused lower eCPM rates, and led mobile game advertisers to shift budgets to Android; prior to the changes, Apple had approximately the 60% of the revenue distribution, meaning Android gained over 25% market share against its rival in the last two years.
Applovin has the lead on both Android and iOS
Per the report, AppLovin has the crown across both iOS and Android. “Just two years ago, AppLovin was ranked fourth in the same charts”, says Roman Garbar of Tenjin. Google AdMob closely follows ranking second place on both platforms.
It gets a little bit interesting here as ironSource and Unity Ads rank third and fourth respectively. Unity and ironSource entered into an agreement to merge about a month ago, then, AppLovin meddled in and made an offer to merge with Unity. It didn’t take long before Unity CEO John Riccitiello shut down AppLovin’s proposal, however, some experts say it’s not all over yet and things may get heated again soon.
Unity and ironSource combined can dethrone AppLovin, provided the merger goes smooth.
The report also includes ad revenue by country across iOS and Android, showing the USA, Japan, and the UK ranking first, second and third respectively for both markets.
iOS – Top countries by revenue
- USA
- Japan
- The UK
- China
- Canada
- Australia
- Germany
- France
- South Korea
- Brazil
Android – Top Countries by revenue
- USA
- Japan
- The UK
- Germany
- Brazil
- South Korea
- India
- Canada
- France
- Indonesia
While the report doesn’t mention this bit, some major mobile game publishers are also looking for ways to avoid Google Play and App Store taxes. The success of this new method is debatable, but it’s an interesting approach nevertheless.
NEXT: Case study: How Kooapps scaled from an indie to a major publisher
