User acquisition is no longer as straightforward as it once was. Rising costs, privacy restrictions, and fierce competition mean that growth now demands smarter, more localized strategies.
Turkiye’s Growing Mobile Gaming Market
Turkiye is emerging as one of the most dynamic mobile gaming markets in Europe, driven by widespread smartphone usage and increasing demand for immersive gaming experiences. In Turkiye, the market is projected to reach around US $427 million in 2025. User penetration is expected to grow from to 28.6% by 2030, reaching 25.4 million gamers. The ARPU is estimated at US $20.02 in 2025.
Device Landscape and Market Opportunities in Turkiye and Europe
In Turkiye, Samsung and Xiaomi lead the smartphone market with approximately 21% and 17% market share, respectively, while Huawei and OPPO are growing contenders. Across Europe, Samsung holds around 32%, followed by Xiaomi at roughly 12%. This strong and diverse OEM presence makes mobile OEM advertising a high-impact channel for gaming marketers aiming to reach users at scale.
With continued smartphone adoption and region-specific patterns of market saturation, Turkiye and Europe present unique opportunities for growth, but they require more tailored and context-aware user acquisition strategies.
Reaching the Right Players Is the Real Challenge
Most marketers aren’t struggling to get impressions; the real challenge is reaching the right players: those who stay, engage, and spend. In Turkiye, competition is rising and CPIs are increasing. With 81% of adults playing weekly or daily, user volume is high, but quality installs still require smart targeting, local creatives, and going beyond Google and Meta.
When the Usual Channels Stop Delivering
Often, the problem isn’t budget, but fatigue from using the same overcrowded channels. Even well-resourced teams are hitting walls. What used to work no longer delivers. ROAS targets stay high, traffic costs more, creatives blend together, and attribution keeps getting tougher. If the basics are breaking down, what still works?
Creative Still Drives Installs – But Context Is Key
Most marketers agree that creative drives installs. The question is which formats deliver real quality, and how to keep production sustainable.
The best performing teams mix formats like playables, videos, and banners based on user behavior. They test faster, focus on engagement, and pick placements where the creative fits. But even great creative will fail if it shows up in the wrong place.
That is why more teams are turning to formats that feel like discovery, not disruption. And once your message lands, how do you know it actually worked?
Turning to Smarter Channels for Better ROI Tracking
Apple’s privacy changes and Android’s updates have made ROI harder to track. Teams are stuck stitching together incomplete data across platforms.
Some are turning to channels that offer direct, event based reporting. Mobile OEMs like Samsung, Xiaomi and OPPO, for example, give clean, closed loop insights without user level tracking. Better measurement also opens the door to better monetization.
Ads That Fit: Keeping Players Engaged and Revenue Growing
For games using both IAPs and ads, balance is key. Too many interstitials and players leave. Too few and revenue suffers.
What works are ad formats that feel like part of the product. That includes rewarded video and native placements that introduce the game without interrupting flow. And how your game is discovered shapes what players expect next.
Are Players Finding Your Game Where It Counts?
Retention does not begin on Day 1. It starts the moment a player first sees your app.
Teams that act early to prevent churn or re-engage players often see stronger LTV. Discovery plays a big role here. Trusted surfaces like curated stores or device notifications often beat even the best ad creative. So where is your game actually being discovered?
How Mobile OEM Channels Are Changing the UA Game
No single channel will solve user acquisition challenges in 2025 or 2026. Growth will come to teams that experiment early, move beyond the Google, Apple, and Meta bubble, and integrate creativity with smarter data strategies.
One channel gaining well-deserved attention is mobile OEM advertising. AVOW, a specialist in mobile OEM advertising, has pioneered access to dynamic preloads, featured placements, and system-level notifications across multiple OEMs. These placements offer real visibility at the device level, not just another fleeting impression.
Diversifying across different OEMs and alternative app stores allows marketers to tap into unique user bases and reduce reliance on saturated platforms.
To help gaming marketers unlock this opportunity, AVOW developed Ready Player Win: The Mobile OEM Advertising Playbook for Gaming Apps. This practical guide is built on extensive hands-on experience with gaming studios, OEMs, and measurement partners.
AVOW’s OEM Gaming Playbook is available to read here.
