Most mobile games are free to play and the developers are banking on the fact that players will spend their hard earned money on in-game rewards. Unfortunately for them, this doesn’t always happen. The monetization system for mobile games is designed for “whales”. The term “whale” is used for players who spend lots of money on in-game purchases, but these “whales” are rare and game developers are not making as much money as they would like.
On the other hand, iOS developers are finding more success on the App Store. iPhone and iPad users are known for spending more money on in-game purchases and therefore, lots of Android developers are switching sides and they are trying their hand at iOS games. Google is aware of this and it introduced a new type of ads called “rewarded ads”.
Introducing Rewarded Ads
Google doesn’t want Android developers to feel like they need to switch to iOS in order to generate revenue and this is why it introduced rewarded ads. For those who unfamiliar with this special kind of ads, what makes them stand out from the rest is the fact that players who chose to watch this type of ads will receive in-game rewards.
Therefore, Google is giving mobile game players a reason to watch ads in exchange for free rewards. Game developers will earn money from each ad viewed by players and any earnings that they make needs to be over $10 so that the developers can withdraw the money.
Powered by AdMob
Google announced that the new rewarded ads are going to be powered by AdMob and that they will be available in the Google Play console. Nonetheless, the Android parent has now released the first beta version of rewarded ads and they can be found in the “Reward Products” category in the Google Play console.
