2023 sees 3.2% increase in global rewarded video ad engagement: Unity

Unity’s Mobile Growth and Monetization Report 2024 reveals that global engagement with rewarded video ads increased by 3.2% year-over-year in 2023. The report offers an in-depth look at the types of games and ad placements that drive the most user interaction, showcasing the continued evolution of in-app advertising strategies.

“As people face economic challenges limiting their ability or readiness to pay for IAPs, ads become increasingly valuable, offering users an alternative way to access in-game content for game progression,” the report says.

According to the data, word games led the pack with the highest daily active user (DAU) engagement with rewarded ads at 38.4%, followed closely by role-playing games (RPGs) at 37.6%, and casual games at 36%. On the other hand, sports and trivia games recorded the lowest engagement rates at 27.3%. Unity found that the placement of ads within the game is crucial to user interaction, with ads tied to specific in-game moments—such as when a player runs out of resources—showing a 38.1% engagement rate. In contrast, ads placed between levels garnered a lower engagement rate of 23.8%.

Interestingly, the report also notes that games featuring a higher number of ad placements tend to see better overall ad engagement. Titles with over 15 ads boasted engagement rates as high as 46%, suggesting that increasing the frequency of ad placements can further enhance monetization.

Beyond rewarded ads, Unity’s report also sheds light on offerwall campaigns and their impact on user acquisition (UA). Users acquired through offerwalls demonstrated stronger retention rates, with a 45.8% higher day-one retention compared to other ad formats like rewarded video and interstitial ads. The retention boost continues over time, with an 86.1% increase in retention by day seven and a 71.7% increase by day 14.

The report also highlighted the varying success of daily reward cost per engagement campaigns. Simple tasks, such as completing a tutorial, had nearly a 100% completion rate, while more complex tasks like interacting with multiplayer features saw a sharp decline in engagement to 26.8%. In-app purchases showed the lowest conversion rate, with only 4.2% of users completing such tasks.