Casual Games in 2024
Download PDFMay, 2024 Casual Gaming
Apps Report
2024
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2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Contents
Highlights & Methodology
Introduction
Cost & Revenue Benchmarks
Where Do Your Installs Come From
?
Innovations in Casual
Gaming Genres
Top Trends in Gaming Events
New Directions in Monetization
About Us
2
3
4
6
14
19
29
34
39
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Introduction
3
The post-pandemic years have been tough for mobile gaming companies, but there is cause
for optimism.
According to data.ai,
while downloads and in-app purchases are still lagging
coming out 2023, consumer spend overall is rebounding, and total hours spent in apps
continue to grow. While game developers are unlikely to see the unprecedented growth and
engagement rates of 2021, the mobile gaming market continues to be dynamic, and there
are opportunities for newcomers and incumbents alike.
From innovations to genre norms to new monetization strategies, mobile games are already
evolving to meet the challenges of the market.
As hyper casual games fade in popularity,
casual games survive and thrive by continuing to evolve and innovate. 3D match games
have carved out their lucrative niche, and
hybrid-casual
success stories continue to
dominate industry attention.
Live events are now a staple for top-performing games. From partner events to social win
streaks, events are key to keeping valuable players engaged longer. Monetization strategies
are also changing. Different progressive offer bundles, for example, encourage ongoing
purchases while offering value to players.
In a demanding market, prioritizing ROI every step
along the user journey is essential—it’s also the focus of this report.
From scaling your audience with the right ROI metrics and insights to driving engagement
with the right features to new in-app monetization models, Liftoff’s report pinpoints revenue
drivers for casual games.
In addition to install costs and ROAS benchmarks from Accelerate,
Liftoff’s programmatic DSP, we share exclusive insights from GameRefinery analysts to help
game developers and marketers capture value where it counts. For app developers and
marketers looking to thrive in 2024, the right partners combined with a data-driven approach
will be essential.
In a market where margins are close, you need partners who can
deliver high-value users who consistently engage.
Liftoff Accelerate improves ROI for gaming advertisers by
optimizing paths to quality traffic via the
Vungle Exchange
.
95% of top gaming apps have the Vungle SDK integrated.
Partner with Liftoff to connect your ads with the right
audience.
Top Tip
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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4
Highlights &
Methodology
ROAS & CPI
D7 ROAS for iOS and Android both rose between June and August before
dipping in September.
Installs by Category
74% of midcore installs came from ads shown in casual games.
Installs by Genre
Ads shown in hyper casual and puzzle games drive over two-thirds of
casual game installs. Simulation and lifestyle are also significant drivers.
Trends in Live Events
Among the US top 25 casual games, approximately 70% have some form of
progressive offer. Approximately 50% have introduced it as a new feature
during the past 12 months.
Innovations in In-App Purchases
An increasing number of casual developers are exploring external
web stores to circumvent the app stores’ high IAP transaction fees.
This report is based
on data from
April 1, 2023 – April 1, 2024
90M
Installs
355B
Impressions
36B
Clicks
All data for the report comes from
GameRefinery
and
Accelerate
, Liftoff’s
programmatic advertising solution.
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Our cost and ROAS benchmarks cover three of the biggest casual gaming
genres. Here’s how Liftoff defines them:
How We Define
Casual Game Genres
5
Puzzle
Puzzle is a
wide-ranging genre.
Examples include
match 3, solitaire,
hidden object, word
games, coloring
games, and trivia titles.
Simulation
From adventures
abroad to creating
new cities, simulation
includes anything that
puts the player in
charge of building an
empire.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle games include
interactive stories,
home customization,
and dress-up titles, as
well as rhythm and
music games.
“Although the mobile gaming market took some hits
post-pandemic, revenue from evergreen gaming genres
are trending up, and there’s room for growth. In a
competitive market, choosing the right partner makes a
difference. Find one with a proven data-driven approach,
access to quality users, and reliable, expert insights into
the mobile gaming landscape.”
Joey Fulcher
VP of Global Accelerate Sales, Liftoff
Cost & Revenue
Benchmarks
Casual Gaming CPI,
Overall, &
by Platform
D7 ROAS
, Overall & by Platform
CPI by Month
D7 ROAS by Month
CPI & D7 ROAS by Region
CPI by Genre
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Casual Gaming CPI,
Overall, & by Platform
7
Overall acquisition costs have increased for casual gaming advertisers, mainly driven
by increased costs on iOS. The average cost per install (CPI) for casual games
between March 2023 to March 2024 on iOS was $4.83 per install.
●
Since 2021, Android has been the less costly platform for casual gaming apps.
In the past 12 months, the average CPI was $0.65.
●
Acquiring users on iOS costs nearly 8x as much as on Android.
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D7 ROAS, Overall, & by
Platform
8
As the casual market grows increasingly competitive, balancing revenue and scale
becomes critical for mobile games. Regarding ROI, the market is highly tiered and
differs depending on the app.
●
Overall, casual games saw an average Day 7 ROAS of 5.7%, a slight dip from the
average in 2023.
●
While Android users are more cost-effective to acquire, iOS games see a slightly
higher average D7 ROAS at 5.9%.
Revenues for top titles are still growing, but there is also greater stratification in
the market. For casual games, there are opportunities to unlock with the right
partner and strategy.
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CPI by Month
9
Especially on iOS, CPI vary throughout the year. While costs were higher between
March and May, and they dipped between June and August. Android costs are more
steady throughout the year. From September to December, Android saw slightly higher
costs, possibly as a result of more competition for seasonal engagement.
●
CPIs for iOS hit annual highs in April and June before falling for the second half
of the year.
●
Android CPIs hovered around $0.60 for the first half of 2023. They climbed
slightly from September to December.
●
Different seasonal patterns speak to the need for unique strategies tailored to
campaigns on different platforms.
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D7 ROAS by Month
10
ROAS averaged slightly lower YoY for both platforms. iOS returns hovered around 5.5%
to 6% for most of the year, while Android saw somewhat more variation.
●
Average D7 ROAS on iOS saw annual highs between July and August and
December and January.
●
The average ROAS on Android peaked in the July of 2023 before dipping notably
between August and October.
●
Seasonal variations could be due to promotions and events, indicating the
importance of an active events calendar and a dynamic campaign strategy.
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CPI
by Region
11
Localizing campaigns are key—as different regions see different habits, preferences,
and privacy regulations. Install cost trends by region have settled into a pattern over
recent years:
●
NAMER consistently sees the highest average CPI, about 6x as much as average
CPI for EMEA and APAC.
●
LATAM sees the lowest average CPI at $0.44 per install.
●
APAC and EMEA have similar CPIs at nearly $1.
●
●
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D7 ROAS
by Region
12
As the casual gaming market grows more competitive and saturated for certain
segments, success can depend on finding value in the right target regions.
●
While NAMER consistently posts the highest CPI, this region also posts the
highest D7 ROAS by a small margin (6%).
●
LATAM has the lowest CPI, but it also has the lowest D7 ROAS at 4.6%.
●
EMEA and APAC have about the same average D7 ROAS at 5.3%, respectively.
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CPI by Genre
13
Different casual-gaming genres see different pathways to success. As hyper casual
games disappear or evolve into hybrid-casual counterparts, puzzle, lifestyle, and
simulation games attract perennial interest.
●
Install costs have risen across the board. Simulation games see lower user
acquisition costs at $1.77 per install.
●
Puzzle games represent the largest segment, and the average cost is around
$2.23.
●
Lifestyle gamers cost nearly 2x as much ($2.95) as simulation players to acquire.
●
Where Do Your
Installs Come From?
GameRefinery’s Taxonomy of Genres and Subgenres
Install Drivers by Category
Casual Game Install Drivers by Genre & Subgenre
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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As the gaming market becomes more competitive, finding high-value users is more important
than ever. This means placing ads with the right publishers to drive quality traffic.
Drawing on GameRefinery taxonomy of the gaming market (below), we set out to find which
games are the top drivers for all gaming installs and the install drivers for each category, genre,
and select subgenres.
Mid-core
Casual
Sports &
Driving
Casino
RPG
Action RPG
Tower Defense RPG
Turn-based RPG
Fighting
MMORPG
Puzzle RPG
Idle RPG
Survival
Sovereign Games
Strategy
4X Strategy
Asymmetric Survival
Build & Battle
MOBA
Tactic Battler
Shooter
Battle Royale
Classic FPS/TPS
Snipers
Tactical Shooter
Card Games
Card Battler
Puzzle
Action Puzzle
Board Games
Bubble Shooter
Match 3 Puzzle
Merge Games
Other Puzzle
Word Games
Trivia Games
Hidden Objects
Solitaire/Mahjong
Lifestyle
Customization
Interactive Story
Music/Band
AR/Location
Based
AR/Location Based
Arcade
Platformer
Shoot/Beat’ em Up
Other Arcade
Tower Defense
Hyper Casual
HC – Puzzle
HC – Top
HC – Steer
HC – Swipe/Drag
HC – .io
HC – Other
Simulation
Adventures
Breeding
Tycoon/Crafting
Sandbox
Time Management
Idler
Sports
Arcade Sports
Realistic Sports
Driving
Arcade Driving
Realistic Driving
Casino
Bingo
Casual Casino
Other Casino
Poker/Cards
Slots
15
15
Track gaming installs with
our data visualization tool
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Install Drivers by
Category
For other gaming categories,
casual games were
consistently a top driver. Based
on our sample, 74% of midcore
installs came from ads shown
in casual games. Other
midcore games and sports
and driving games were also
notable drivers, at 10% and 13%,
respectively.
Casino games drove 2% of
midcore installs.
We noticed clear trends in
installs in the past year. Even
as more hybrid-genre
games find success, most
installs for casual games are
still driven by other casual
games.
Sports & driving games are
the second top driver of
installs for casual games at a
distant 5%. Casino games
come in last at 2%.
Category Drivers
for Casual Games
Category Drivers
for Mid-Core Games
16
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Casual Game Install
Drivers by Genre
Since they have a broad audience, hyper casual games remain a significant driver of installs
across all genres at 29%. However, we do see their contribution decreasing YoY, likely because
the genre is waning. Puzzle games, by contrast, drove 37% of casual game installs—a sign of
their continued popularity. Simulation and lifestyle games deliver a notable share of installs,
each contributing around 8% of total installs.
Casino, sports, and driving games are more niche, each driving about 3% of total installs for
casual games.
17
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Although casual games dominate in volume, they also attract a diverse audience. Breaking
down total casual gaming installs by subgenre, we see that ads shown in puzzle genres
represent a key install driver. Non-puzzle hyper casual genres, however, have fallen off as a top
source of installs.
18
Casual Games Install Drivers by Subgenre
“We’re seeing the casualization of ads—even for midcore titles.
But the trend only works if you adapt your product too. In an
idle battler RPG game, for instance, casual ads will work well if
you pace your player journey to introduce the RPG complexity
slowly. By the time the user understands how complex the
game is, they’re already familiar with it. A good example is
Archero, which achieved massive scale by showing hyper
casual ads and then easing users into a fairly complex
casual-core game.”
Paula Neves
Lead
Product Manager in Games
Rising Stars in Casual Gaming
3D Match Finds Its Footing
Mahjong Solitaire Evolves
Hybrid Casual Success Stories
Case Study: Transforming Product Development With
GameRefinery
Trends in Gaming
Genres & Events
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Snapshot: Rising Stars in
Casual Gaming
20
The last 12 months saw exciting innovations in the casual gaming genre. 3D match and
mahjong solitaire have stood out as dynamic, innovative genres staking their claim on the
market. We’ve also seen more hybrid-casual titles find the right formula for success.
●
Throughout 2023,
3D match titles
like Match Factory! and Tile Match 3D have scaled
performance, establishing their niche in a highly competitive puzzle market space.
●
Mahjong solitaire games
are evolving their format, injecting energy into the market with
fresh meta and core combinations. They’re also leveling up their event strategies.
●
Hybrid-casual games
are gaining momentum, with many now entering the top
grossing charts. These games focus on simple, polished gameplay, combining ad
monetization with IAPs, and unlocking monetization potential through varied gameplay
features and
meta layers
.
Orange: 3D match
Purple: Mahjong solitaire
Blue: Hybrid casual
Solitaire Grand Harvest
Tiki Solitaire TriPeaks
Zen Match
Block Jam 3D
Tile Busters
Tile Family
Hexa Sort
Twisted Tangle
Alien Invasion
Tile Match 3D
Triple Match 3D
Happy Match Cafe
Joy Match 3D
Match Factory!
3D match, mahjong solitaire, and hybrid casual presence in the top 200 casual games
on the market in March 2024. US market data (iOS) from the GameRefinery platform.
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3D Match Finds Its
Footing
21
After Triple Match 3D paved the way for this newest hit puzzle format, others have
followed suit. Based on GameRefinery data, market share for 3D match games in
the US iOS top 500 grossing has grown from $2.95M to an impressive $15.25M
between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023.
All the top-grossing 3D match games on the US market feature similar core puzzle
mechanics—players declutter piles of items, three pieces at a time. Titles like the
original Triple Match 3D and Peak’s newer competitor, Match Factory, are finding
success with the classic puzzle-focused format. Others are now adding renovation
meta layers, minigames, and narrative elements to stand out.
3D matching has also started appearing elsewhere in mobile games via minigame
modes—in the mahjong solitaire hit Tile Busters, for example.
Happy Match Cafe, which began scaling in August 2023, blends the core
3D matching gameplay with a renovation meta layer, narrative, and
minigame modes.
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The Evolving Mahjong
Solitaire Genre
22
Zen Match kicked off the mahjong solitaire puzzle trend in July 2021 with its unique
gameplay and “zen” vibe. It has since inspired competitors like Tile Busters and
Tile Family. Both games have entered the US top 200 grossing by adding twists
and boldly drawing from broader casual trends.
Zen Match was the first and only mahjong solitaire game in the top 200 for some time.
It was followed by a swift overtaking in store rankings by Tile Busters with it’s dynamic
live event framework, and soon, Tile Family entered the race.
Tile Family uses narrative elements to breathe life into the “Coin Master-renovation
meta.” They also utilize “pull the pin”-type minigame levels between regular puzzle
levels for variation and offer a light card collection meta layer.
Revenue data (US, iOS) from the GameRefinery platform (left). Tile Family has
dialogue attached to the renovation meta progression. (right).
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23
Both games intentionally deviate from Zen Match’s relaxing and stylish atmosphere. Tile
Busters’ synchronous PvP mode and a good selection of competitive events create a more
hectic and dynamic feel.
Tile Busters’ LiveOps calendar has a fast
pace of rotating events, with lots of
different competitive events, including a
synchronous PvP event.
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Hybrid-Casual Success
Story: Twisted Tangle
24
Twisted Tangle from Rollic, a prolific hyper casual publisher, is undoubtedly the biggest
recent success story in the hybrid-casual field. The game’s goal is to untangle ropes in as
few moves as possible.
This new type of puzzle game with a tangle-solving core mechanic was first seen in ad
creatives, then skyrocketed in revenue around December 2023, and has since stayed in the
US top 200 grossing games.
Core gameplay for Twisted Tangle depicts piles of tangled ropes that players need to
untangle within a time limit. They do this by moving the ends of the ropes between open
slots. The game scaled performance by gradually
making essential changes to the original
format to evolve it from a hyper casual game to a hybrid-casual winner:
Shifting to a completely linear saga map with levels alternating in difficulty.
Adding IAP boosters and more varied level mechanics.
Adding ad skip tickets and a simple, premium cosmetics collection layer that brings
new ad and direct monetization sinks.
Twisted Tangle made an impressive leap in revenue boosted by UA, but sustained by
in-game features. Revenue & downloads data (US, iOS) from the GameRefinery platform.
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Hybrid-Casual Success
Story: Alien Invasion
25
Idle arcade is a hybrid-casual subgenre that has its roots in hyper casual. The subgenre
emerged around 2020, but none of the idle arcade titles has secured a place in the top 200
until Alien Invasion.
The core gameplay for Alien Invasion is based on the familiar idle arcade loop of moving a
character on an open field, gathering resources, and delivering them back to a silo to
advance a fairly simple power progression.
The game is made addictive by the recurring competitive ranking events where players strive
for higher ranks to earn
permanent gameplay upgrades
, not just temporary event boosts.
Real-time rank updates add urgency and amplify the sense of competition.
Ranking high offers substantial one-time
rewards of premium currency
, which are
grueling to obtain otherwise, increasing the event’s appeal.
A Piggy Bank for additional event points, added in January 2024, enhances
monetization and boosts engagement.
Alien Invasion has made steady revenue gains since its launch in October 2022. In autumn
2023, they broke through to the US top 200. Revenue and downloads data (US, iOS) from the
GameRefinery platform.
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Hybrid-Casual Success
Story: Block Jam 3D
26
During 2023, Voodoo’s Block Jam 3D found its place in the US top 200 while riding the latest
trends in casual.
Block Jam 3D also represents a new puzzle core type that is essentially an evolution of
mahjong solitaire, with its gameplay of sorting tray and puzzle pieces stacked in rows
instead of piles.
The game makes the leap from hyper casual to casual with:
Surprisingly
robust LiveOps
(win streak events, race events, duel event, Battle Pass,
player league, a
separate daily level
mimicking Rollic’s game Bus Jam, and even the
trendy digging event).
The tried-and-true “Coin Master-meta”.
Hybrid monetization, including a Battle Pass with cosmetic rewards and
experimentation with trends such as the progressive offer.
Block Jam 3D’s performance development during 2023 and beyond, boosted by their LiveOps
experimentation. Revenue & downloads data (US, iOS) from the GameRefinery platform.
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Case Study: Transforming
Product Development With
GameRefinery
27
Lotum
develops and operates games
that engage millions of players
worldwide daily. With GameRefinery,
the company:
Gained insights about feature
popularity to improve
roadmap prioritization
Generated ideas for game
improvements by digging into
features at the game level
Reduced production costs with
access to a vast collection of
feature implementations and
FTUE video
“
I recommend using GameRefinery for every data-driven studio that wants
to rely on accurate, up-to-date information to make informed game design
decisions. With GameRefinery, we have access to a wealth of data at our
fingertips. The data allows us to identify trends and patterns that we might
have missed before. The dashboards and visualizations are intuitive and
easy to use, and the GameRefinery team is incredibly supportive.
”
Lars Schmeller
Game Lead, 4 Bilder 1 Wort, Lotum
Read the full case study here
Top Event Trends in
Casual Gaming
The Latest Trends in Casual Gaming Events
Trending: Digging Events
Trending: Social Win Streaks
Trending: Partner Events
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The Latest Trends in
Casual Gaming Events
29
Incorporating minigames to
diversify core gameplay has
become a staple in casual
LiveOps strategy, with
digging events emerging as
the latest innovation
in the
casual gaming market.
Transform your LiveOps with
our
Live Events Tracker
When looking at casual and
puzzle games, there’s a
distinct pattern—a single
market leader pioneers new
event types, and others
quickly follow suit. Royal
Match has long held the
position of market leader.
Over the past year, however,
MONOPOLY GO! has stepped
into the spotlight as the top
innovator with its new
partner event type
,
prompting even Royal Match
to adopt it.
The introduction of
social
win streak events
, this time
pioneered by Royal Match
through their Lava Quest,
showcases another
successful way of leveraging
social motivations in events.
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Trending: Digging Events
30
Digging minigames, previously seen in midcore games such as Legend of Slime, made
their casual debut in June 2023 when Royal Match introduced their first digging event.
Royal Match’s original digging event is straightforward, but it has inspired more complex
versions in other games.
In these events, players use tokens, such as pickaxes, to dig through a grid, revealing
hidden items and possible minor rewards. As players uncover the key items, they receive
the main reward for that grid and progress to bigger and more challenging grids. The
process encourages them to use the tokens strategically. Tokens are typically obtained by
completing levels or through IAPs.
Block Jam 3D’s digging event is a near-identical
rendition of Royal Match’s original design.
However, Block Jam 3D allows you to continue the
event by purchasing a bundle offer of pickaxes,
boosters, lives, and soft currency.
Survivor.io, a
midcore-leaning casual title,
often adds various elements
to their events. In addition to
the hidden key object that
resets the grid, their digging
event offers separate tasks
for earning event tokens and
event currency for an
exchange shop hidden
inside the grid.
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Trending: Social Win Streaks
31
Social win streak events first appeared on the market in March 2023, when Royal Match
introduced Lava Quest, the first event to combine win-streak mechanics with a light
last-man-standing competition.
In social win streak events, players are matched into groups of 100 players to compete for
an attractive main prize. The participants are challenged to complete successive levels
without breaking a winning streak. As the levels are cleared, players who fail get visually
eliminated by, e.g., sinking into lava or water. The main prize is then split among surviving
players.
This event type is trending within level-based puzzle games on the US market. Almost a
dozen top-grossing puzzle titles have adopted this format since its first appearance.
The original Lava Quest from Royal Match, and social win streak
events from Toon Blast and Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells
31
“As the casual puzzle market matures, newcomers have
more and more existing winning frameworks to use as a
springboard. Hybrid casual games like Block Jam 3D
and the new Mahjong Solitaire games found success by
building on a simple but satisfying puzzle core, a visual
meta progression, and hybrid monetization. They also
swiftly adopt new event types from across the puzzle
market, making it possible for some of them to bypass
gaming giants and dominate the charts.”
Sonja Skoglund
Game Analyst, GameRefinery, a Liftoff Company
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Trending: Partner Events
32
Partner events were pioneered by MONOPOLY GO! with their Baking Partners event in July
2023. The event format proved successful and has since been adapted for other
high-performing casual titles such as Royal Match, Phase 10, and Clockmaker.
Partner events involve teaming up with friends or random players to complete tasks for
rewards collectively. This format typically requires players to collect event currency through
gameplay. Players can then use their earnings to spin a wheel or participate in a similar
game to earn points and advance in the event. Another hallmark of the format is having
separate event progress with each of your teammates. There is often a visual signifier for
progress—for example, an object being gradually built, such as a cake being baked or an
egg being hatched.
The one that started it all:
MONOPOLY GO!’s original partner
event involved players baking
cakes together. Since then, several
iterations of this event type have
been launched with differing
themes, like building cars or
setting up a garden.
The addition of partner
events contributed to a
significant increase in
MONOPOLY GO!’s
baseline revenues during
the summer of 2023.
Revenue & downloads
data (US, iOS) from the
GameRefinery platform.
New Directions in
Monetization
Fresh Approaches to In-
App
Purchases
Trending: Pick-One Bundles
Trending: Progressive Offers
Trending: Engagement Offers
Trending:
Web Stores Spreading to Casual
Gaming
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34
Just as there’s ongoing innovation for new event types in the casual market, finding the next
hit IAP offer format is a continuous effort. Whenever a fresh offer type with a new twist is
introduced to the market, casual developers are quick to adapt it for their own titles.
“
Great limited-time offers combine high-value content
with a tight deadline, but urgency isn’t the only way to
drive conversions. Current offer trends give players a
choice and more control. They allow players to accrue
value for themselves by engaging. Or, they lay a clear
path to the best offer by providing increasingly
attractive options while still letting the players decide.
”
Mona Hietala
Game Analyst, GameRefinery, a Liftoff Company
Fresh Approaches to
In-App Purchases
In the past year, we’ve seen offer types like pick-one bundles take off, and ongoing trends
like progressive offers continue to become monetization staples in top-grossing casual
games. New offer types have also emerged, with engagement offers now building
momentum and showing how innovation can come from outside the casual sphere.
Casual developers are also exploring monetization strategies beyond what traditional
in-app purchases can offer. External web stores are now also trending in casual gaming.
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Trending: Pick-One Bundles
35
Pick-one bundles have been gaining more traction in 2024. We’ve seen several
high-performing casual games add this offer type to their bundle selection.
The most common format for pick-one offers features a small selection of bundles at
different price points. They usually include a special discounted price for purchasing all of
the bundles at once, motivating players through a more attractive offer.
As the name suggests, these bundles entice players to buy by giving them an option. They
can purchase only one of the bundles on offer or opt for the whole set, making the
discount extra attractive. These offers can also appear without the buy-all option.
From left to right: Pick-one bundles in Triple Match 3D, Frozen City, and MONOPOLY GO!.
These examples also highlight a trend in the visual design of the bundles, with the
most common format including three vertical bars of different heights, displayed in
ascending order.
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Trending: Progressive Offers
36
Progressive offers were first introduced by Royal Match in June 2021, and over the past 12
months they have managed to saturate the casual space.
Out of the US top 25 casual games, approximately 70% have some form of progressive
offer. Approximately 50% have introduced it as a new feature during the past 12 months.
The idea in these schemes is that a string of offers alternates between free-to-claim
rewards and real money purchases. But, you can only purchase/claim the offers one after
the other in their order of appearance.
There are two archetypes of progressive offers:
The first, “endless offer,” generates new
steps for as long as the user is willing to
buy them, with smaller rewards per
step.
Idle Lumber Empire, for example, has a
unique variation that has rewarded ads
on certain tiers of “endless offers.”
The second, “set step count ladder,”
usually has bigger bundles at each
step.
Merge Dragons! added their first
progressive offer in August 2023, along
with an exclusive dragon breed only
available as a threshold reward from
their Endless Riches progressive offer.
In May 2023, BTS Island massively
overhauled their monetization LiveOps.
They applied both the “endless” type
offers and 5-step offers with two
selectable bundles on each step.
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Download PDF
Trending: Engagement Offers
37
Engagement offers are a new, dynamic IAP format in casual games. They first appeared on
our radar in late 2023 and gained traction quickly, with several casual games adding
engagement offers in early 2024.
The core idea of engagement offers is to give players a better deal the more they play.
They incentivize players to complete small tasks in exchange for:
Access to a great deal
Increasing their discount percentage
Unlocking premium rewards
Adding more content to their purchase
This versatile offer type blends elements from Battle Passes, Piggy Banks, and paid
progression plans, combining elements from across genres. They also add an
engagement layer while still keeping the deals uncomplicated and casual. Engagement
offers can tap into FOMO to push rewards, injecting a sense of urgency by keeping offer
durations short.
Mr. Toffee’s Offer in Candy Crush Saga
lets players collect stars from their
regular level progression to unlock
enticing offers.
Coin Master implemented different types
of varying engagement offers. In Chop
the Price, players can increase their
discount percentage by collecting
hammers, and the progress pack format
offers players premium rewards for
completing specific tasks.
2024 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Download PDF
Trending: Web Stores
Spreading to Casual Gaming
38
When external web stores began emerging in 2022, mainly midcore developers
jumped on the opportunity. However, an increasing number of casual developers
are now exploring the potential of circumventing platform fees from app stores.
External web stores can offer players better deals when making purchases by
letting them buy directly from the developer’s own platform instead of purchasing
in-app.
In addition to great deals, casual gaming web stores have also found clever ways
to attract and convert players into payers. These include:
Daily or weekly free gifts claimable exclusively from the web store
Welcome gifts
Web-exclusive offers
Extra content in bundles
First-time purchase discounts
Scopely’s Yahtzee With Buddies! Online
has an especially robust web store. It
includes welcome gifts, progressive daily
login rewards, and a separate loyalty
point program for web purchases.
Mattel has implemented web stores
for all their mobile card games. The
web store for UNO! offers players daily
gifts and web-exclusive offers, some of
which can only be accessed by
logging in to the platform.
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