2022 Casual Gaming Apps Report

Casual Gaming
Apps Report
Unlocking the Secrets of the
Most Popular Genre
2022

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Contents
Contents
Introduction | 4 UA, ROAS and Ad
Completion
Benchmarks | 7
Monthly CPI and ROAS
Trends | 13
3Market Trends by
GameRefinery | 17
Android vs iOS | 23 Regional Trends | 27

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Introduction
In recent years, pandemic-driven demand led to record-breaking levels of spending in mobile games. Consumers
worldwide coped with lockdowns by playing their favorite casual games. However, as policies shifted, user spending
on mobile games dropped year-over-year for the first time in Q1 2022—down from the pandemic-driven spend peak
of $22.6 billion in Q1 2021.
Despite a market correction in the industry, mobile gaming increased its market share to over 60% of the gaming
industry. Mobile is now 3.3x larger than its closest competitor, home console gaming. The casual gaming sector is
also projected to grow steadily , retaining its place as the mobile gaming genre made for everyone.
As the mobile gaming industry continues to scale, marketers need new models, metrics, and methods to keep their
game portfolios thriving today and tomorrow. We’ve compiled insights from data based on more than 58 million
installs to help marketers capitalize on new opportunities.
The 2022 Liftoff Casual Gaming Apps Report includes an analysis of CPI, ROAS, and ad completion rates across the
genre. The report also includes insights from Mobile Heroes at Jam City, Socialpoint, and Wooga who are at the top
of their game in the casual gaming sector.
4

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Report highlights
User Acquisition
In the past year, the average cost per
install (CPI) for casual games was $1.10.
Simulation players cost the least to
acquire, at $0.91 each.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
Report Highlights
5
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
D7 and D30 ROAS stayed steady
month-over-month between 2021 and
2022. Over 12 months, D7 and D30 ROAS
averaged 7.31% and 17.81%, respectively.
Platform Trends
Post ATT, CPI on iOS ($2.27) was 2x that of
Android ($0.75). Android and iOS users
had similar D7 and D30 ROAS.
Regional Trends
APAC and LATAM provide great value with
CPIs of less than $1. ROAS is about the
same across all regions except LATAM.

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Report highlightsHOW WE DEFINE CASUAL GAME GENRES6
How we define casual game genres
The report is split into three of the biggest casual gaming genres:
Lifestyle
Lifestyle games include
interactive stories (such as
Lovelink ), home customization
and dress-up titles (with famous
examples including Design Home
and Covet Fashion ), as well as
rhythm and music games.
Puzzle
Puzzles are a wide-ranging
genre. A mainstay, match-3,
remains one of the most popular.
Also included are Solitaire and
Hidden Object (think June’s
Journey ). Other notable game
types, such as Word games (like
Words With Friends ), Coloring
games, and trivia titles, make up
the rest of the category.
Simulation
From adventures abroad to
creating new cities, simulation
includes anything that puts the
player in charge of building an
empire. Popular titles of the
genre include Rollercoaster
Tycoon , Cooking Diary , and—for
animal lovers—a range of virtual
pet sims.

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
UA, ROAS and Ad
Completion
Benchmarks
Tallying up the challenges and rewards
of mobile marketing

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
From 2021 to 2022, average CPI across casual games hit $1.10.
Meanwhile, ROAS rates averaged 7.31% at Day 7 and 17.81% at Day
30.
UA AND ROAS BENCHMARKS
D7 and D30 ROAS, 2020 to 2022
8
CPI, 2020 to 2022

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
With a CPI of $0.91, Simulation players cost the least to acquire.
Puzzle players offer the next best value at $1.12 per install.
UA AND ROAS BENCHMARKS
CPI by Genre
9

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Lifestyle games may have the highest CPI, but they also post the
highest returns, with ROAS rates at 10.57% on Day 7 and 22.56% on
Day 30.
UA AND ROAS BENCHMARKS
ROAS by Genre
10

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Over 90% of users watch
video ads for Hidden Object
games to completion, a
nearly 60 percentage point
difference from the median.
UA AND ROAS BENCHMARKS
Video Ad Completion Rate by Genre
11Vungle ad network, Q1 2022

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Rewarded video ads for puzzle and puzzle-adjacent casual games
led the pack as the genres that saw the highest ad completion rates
(97%+).
UA AND ROAS BENCHMARKS
Rewarded Video Ad Completion Rate by Genre
12Vungle ad network, Q1 2022

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Monthly
CPI and ROAS Trends
How can marketers get the most from their ad
spend?

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
CPI fell post-ATT after peaking in May 2021 at $1.45. Costs hit
sub-$1 levels in early 2022 before rebounding in April.
MONTHLY CPI AND ROAS TRENDS
CPI by Month
14

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Both D7 and D30 ROAS rates stayed relatively steady, never rising
or falling more than 3 percentage points.
MONTHLY CPI AND ROAS TRENDS
ROAS by Month
15

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Danika Wilkinson
Head of Marketing, New Games
“
It can be easy to get obsessed with vanity metrics like D1
retention and lose sight of the end goal. Even LTV and CPI
can be superficial metrics. At the end of the day, it doesn’t
matter if I spend $1 or $10 per user if I’m reaching 100%
profitability. People get really focused on these absolutes
when the key is in the relative number, the actual return on
investment of the game.
16MONTHLY CPI AND ROAS TRENDS
Read the full interview

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Market Trends by
GameRefinery
What do users want out of their gaming
experiences?

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
What do all the top-grossing games have in common? They rely on elements that keep players
invested.
CASUAL GAMING TOP TRENDS
Top games and challengers (US, iOS)
18Based on GameRefinery’s Casual Gaming Trends Report Days since release0730Sustained grossing rank2001

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
A closer look at the superhits of casual gaming: Zen Match – Relaxing Puzzle
CASUAL GAMING TOP TRENDSBased on GameRefinery’s Casual Gaming Trends Report
Analyst’s overview
Our analyst’s key takeouts
Genre & Style
Zen Match is a mahjong style puzzle game where the player matches puzzle tiles together on a mahjong-like board but also
allowing users to design interior styles for rooms . The game has relaxing audiovisuals and a realistic art style.
Features & Progression
● Players progress through mahjong-style matching puzzles
○ Special daily mode levels
● Collect currency from levels to design Zen rooms
● Upgrade plants by playing special daily mode levels
Monetization Examples
IAP
● Consumable boosters to help in completing levels
● Players purchase continues to retry a level
● Purchase more lives instead of waiting for refill
Ads
● Forced ads
● Banner ads
● Collect decorative backgrounds
● Simple recurring events
○ Tournaments
Zen Match –
Relaxing
Puzzle
● Piggy Bank
● Removing ads
● Battle Pass
● Limited-time offers
19

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
A closer look at the superhits of casual gaming: Beatstar
CASUAL GAMING TOP TRENDSBased on GameRefinery’s Casual Gaming Trends Report
Analyst’s overview
Our analyst’s key takeouts
Genre & Style
Beatstar is a sleek and simple three-laned rhythm game intended for phones. Gameplay includes long tiles and swipes.
All of the songs become progressively difficult: Beatstar tiles appear periodically in songs and mark a slight speed up and a
bump in difficulty.
Features & Progression
● Players make progress by collecting star scores. The scores build up and open up more features and rewards
● New songs are acquired from song boxes which can be opened by collecting a set amount of box cards from
gameplay. Boxes require more cards for every box opened for a genre
● There is a hidden session length mechanic in the unlock slots: once all slots are full (player has collected 3×350
Beatcoins) they can no longer play without watching an ad or making a purchase for Unlimited Play
● A wide selection of songs from different genres , players can also select their favorites from a Wishlist Box
● Hard and extreme songs available separately
● Highscore lists for local players and friends: when passing a friend’s score, players can brag with emotes
○ Multiplayer competition events, each lasting 4-5 days
○ Two songs to choose from daily during the event period
○ 20-minute PvP battle for the best score for the chosen song, two free tries per challenge
○ Prize tokens given out based on rankings, used to spin the event prize wheel
Beatstar20

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
A closer look at the superhits of casual gaming: Beatstar II
CASUAL GAMING TOP TRENDSBased on GameRefinery’s Casual Gaming Trends Report
Monetization
IAP Examples
● Two options for Unlimited Play are offered in the shop when song case unlock slots are full
● A one-week subscription, including 50 gems purchasable with real money
● 30 minutes of Unlimited Play purchasable with 25 gems
● A refreshing shop for song boxes, limited-time song offers and bundles
● Gem packs
● Skip unlock time with gems
● Buying another try for multiplayer events
● Monthly Tour Pass events with varying themes:
○ Battle Pass with one premium tier: players gather pass points from normal gameplay and from Daily Shuffle (play
two random songs from your library daily for double pass points)
○ Rewards include emotes for bragging, profile banners, random season songs, box cards, wishlist and rainbow cards
○ 30 tiers with varying rewards, after which each level grants bonus rewards if the pass has been purchased
Ad Placement Examples
● Ads will play after songs, after a mistake during a song
● Rewarded ads give five free gems in the shop after the daily free gems have been claimed
● Ads for box cards when finishing a song in regular gameplay and Daily Shuffle
Beatstar21

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Melanie Zimmerman
Head of Marketing at Wooga
“
At Wooga, we have the luxury of having great stories that our
players are excited to continue to experience, so they stay engaged.
Our games are developed with accumulated knowledge about our
players. That’s the number one anti-churn tactic: Know your players
and deliver content relevant to them. We are listening to them in
different ways, with the help of player surveys and audience
research, figuring out what they actually want, and delivering on
that.
22CASUAL GAMING TOP TRENDS

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Android vs iOS
Which platform wins?

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Post ATT, Android users cost
less than half what it takes to
acquire iOS players.
ANDROID VS iOS
CPI by Platform
24

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Android users exhibited similar D7
and D30 ROAS rates to iOS users,
but they cost only $0.75 on
average to acquire.
ANDROID VS iOS
ROAS by Platform
25

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Vinícius Gerez
Principal User Acquisition Manager at Wooga
“
26ANDROID VS iOS
A decade ago, it was hard to get lots of accurate data and then
make sense of it. As privacy becomes essential, we once again
have fewer data to work with. It’s making creative and research
much more significant to marketers because you have to make
up for missing numbers with creativity.

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Regional Trends
We’re in a world of play, but how does
performance compare?

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
With an average CPI of $0.66, LATAM players are the most
cost-effective. Casual game players in NAR cost more to acquire
($3.32) than players in other regions.
REGIONAL TRENDS
CPI by Region
28

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
APAC, EMEA, and NAR have comparable D7 and D30 ROAS rates.
Meanwhile, LATAM posts lower rates in both categories.
REGIONAL TRENDS
ROAS by Region
29

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT Winnie Wen
Senior Director of User Acquisition at Jam City
“
Creative is a big lever. The industry has been around for a while and
there are many outlets and channels we leverage. But, there’s a lot
of noise as well. Ultimately, creative is the first touchpoint. It’s the
first area where we connect and speak to the users — tell them what
our product is, how we can appeal to them, what our value
proposition is, and how to get them to the next part of the funnel.
30REGIONAL TRENDS

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Notes on the Report

2022 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Report Methodology
76.1 B
Impressions
3.4 B
Clicks
58.5 M
Installs Date Range: 1st May 2021 – 1st May 2022 32 Liftoff Data Is Based on: NOTES ON THE REPORT

WHO IS LIFTOFF?
Liftoff is the leading growth acceleration platform for the mobile industry, helping
advertisers, publishers and game developers scale revenue growth with solutions to
market and monetize mobile apps.
With a suite of solutions including Vungle, JetFuel and GameRefinery, Liftoff supports
over 6,600 mobile businesses across 74 countries, including gaming, social, finance,
ecommerce, entertainment and more. Liftoff is proud to be a long-term partner to leading
advertisers and app publishers since 2012. Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, Liftoff
has a growing global presence with offices around the world.
liftoff.io

WHO IS GAMEREFINERY?
GameRefinery, a Liftoff company, is the leading provider of feature-level data in the
mobile games market, with an ever-growing database covering hundreds of thousands of
games. GameRefinery’s customers include leading mobile games companies such as
Zynga, Wargaming, King, and FunPlus.
The GameRefinery platform uses unique algorithms and a team of expert analysts to help
developers, investors, and publishers delve into the very building blocks of mobile
games to uncover the drivers behind success, understand why games are successful,
and how to achieve the same from pre-production to LiveOps.
gamerefinery.com