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Mobile Games

Mobile Game Marketing Agency: Grow Players Who Pay Back Your Spend

ApsteQ fits studios running hybrid-casual, casual, puzzle or midcore games that want user acquisition, creative testing and store page tests handled by one in-house team and judged on D7 and D30 ROAS, with you owning the ad accounts. We are an agency, not a publisher, so studios looking for a publisher to fund their UA should look elsewhere.

ApsteQ is a mobile game marketing agency for studios and publishers. We run game user acquisition, creative testing, store page optimization and retention for hybrid-casual, casual, puzzle and midcore games, and we judge every dollar by D7 and D30 ROAS and retention, not by installs alone.

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What we do for mobile games

Games are won on creative speed and payback discipline. These are the six things we deliver, each tied to a number you can check.

Game user acquisition

We build and run campaigns on Meta, Google App campaigns, TikTok and Apple Ads, with event optimization set to the purchase or ad-engagement signal that predicts your payback.

Creative testing system

A weekly pipeline of gameplay videos, UGC-style clips and playables, tested one variable at a time, with winners scaled and losers killed on a written rule.

Store page and ASO

Icon, screenshot and video tests through Apple and Google store experiments, plus keyword work, so every paid click converts to an install at a better rate. See ASO.

Soft launch planning

Country choice, cohort plan, kill and go thresholds for D1, D7 and D30, and a read on early ROAS before you commit a global budget.

Retention and LiveOps messaging

Onboarding review, push and email for event and content drops, and win-back flows for lapsed players. See Retention.

Measurement and ROAS reporting

Attribution set up with your MMP, cohort ROAS at D7 and D30, and a weekly report that ties each creative to revenue, covering IAP and ad income together.

How an engagement works

Free audit of your funnel

We review your store page, current campaigns, tracking and retention curve, and tell you where the money leaks first. Start the audit.

Define payback and kill rules

We set a target ROAS window, a break-even point from your margin and store fee, and the retention floor below which we stop scaling.

Fix the measurement

Install, level, purchase and ad-impression events flow to your MMP and to each ad network, so campaigns optimize on value and not only on installs.

Test creatives and store pages

We launch a creative test in a controlled campaign, run store experiments in parallel, and promote winners into scale campaigns.

Scale where payback holds

Budget moves to the countries, networks and creatives whose cohorts are on track at D7, and shifts away when the curve bends down.

Retain and report weekly

LiveOps messaging brings players back, and a weekly report shows cohort ROAS, retention and the next set of tests.

What makes mobile game growth different from other apps

Three things separate games from subscription or utility apps. Most players never pay, so a small group funds everything. Retention falls fast after install, so the first days decide the economics. And ad fatigue is quick, so creative supply is part of the product.

GameAnalytics found that the median D7 retention across projects sits between 3.42% and 3.94%, and that 75% of projects have D28 retention below 3% (GameAnalytics 2025 benchmarks, via GameDev Reports). That is why the install price alone tells you very little. A cheap install that leaves on day one is the most expensive install you can buy.

How much does mobile game user acquisition cost?

Mobile game install costs depend on genre and region far more than on channel. FoxData's 2026 benchmarks put puzzle games at about $3.00 per install on iOS and $2.00 on Android, strategy games at about $5.50 and $4.00, and hyper-casual at about $0.40 on Android. By region, FoxData cites Adjust at $1.68 per install in North America and $0.53 in Europe. Those are entry prices, not verdicts. An expensive install that pays back inside your window beats a cheap one that churns on day one, so we judge spend by ROAS at D7 and D30 and by retention. To set a target, work backwards: take expected revenue per player at your payback window, subtract the store fee and your margin, and the remainder is the most you can pay. Our break-even ROAS calculator does that sum. If your blended cost sits above it, the fix is usually the creative or the retention curve, not a cheaper country.

Genre	iOS CPI	Android CPI
Hyper-casual	$1.50 to $2.50	about $0.40
Hybrid-casual	not given	$0.54 (2024) to $0.95 (2025), global
Puzzle	about $3.00	about $2.00
Simulation	about $3.75	about $2.50
Midcore	about $4.50	about $3.25
Strategy	about $5.50	about $4.00
RPG and hardcore	about $6.00	about $4.50

Source: FoxData, 2026 mobile game UA cost benchmarks, which cites Adjust and Business of Apps for most rows. Our own deeper write-up is in CPI benchmarks 2026, and the Break-Even ROAS Calculator turns margin into a maximum cost.

In-app purchases or ad monetization: which should game UA optimize for?

Optimize UA for the revenue stream that makes up most of your player value. Strategy and RPG games earn mainly from in-app purchases, so campaigns should target payers and measure purchase ROAS. Casual and hybrid-casual games earn from both ads and purchases, per Unity's ROAS guide, so the bid target must count both. Ad revenue builds slowly through sessions, which makes early ROAS look low, while purchases arrive earlier but from fewer players. The practical rule is to report ROAS as one blended number and also as separate IAP and ad lines. Feed your ad networks the purchase event and an ad-revenue signal so they learn who is worth buying. Then set the payback window to match: shorter for purchase-heavy games, longer where ad income accrues over weeks. A mixed model needs both lines visible, or you will cut campaigns that are quietly paying back through ads.

Unity lists the observed median D7 ROAS by genre, and the ranges show why one target for every game fails:

Genre	Median D7 ROAS (observed)	Main revenue driver
Hypercasual	7 to 8%	Ads
Casual	7 to 8.5%	Ads + IAP
Hybrid-casual	8 to 12%	Ads + IAP
Strategy	5 to 6%	IAP
RPG	about 2%	IAP

Source: Unity, What is ROAS. Unity states it has not independently verified the benchmarks.

D7 versus D30 ROAS

Unity calls D7 the most common optimization checkpoint because it is early enough to act on and late enough to carry signal, and it adds that a low D7 ROAS is not necessarily a bad sign (Unity). Shorter windows show a lower ROAS number and a less complete revenue picture. The answer is a historical LTV curve: use D7 to predict where a cohort lands at D30, D60 or D180, and keep scaling only when that prediction clears break-even.

Platform fees matter here too. Unity notes the commission can be up to 30% on app store purchases, so break-even ROAS must be computed on revenue after the fee. We build the curve from your own cohorts as soon as there are enough of them, and we do not assume another game's curve is yours.

What are good D1, D7 and D30 retention rates for a mobile game?

Good retention is relative to the games you compete with. FoxData, citing Adjust's 2026 report, puts global gaming D1 retention at 27%. GameAnalytics' 2024 data shows the top 25% of games averaging 26.48% to 27.69% on D1 and 7% to 8% on D7, while the median D7 across projects is only 3.42% to 3.94%. Most games lose the large majority of installers within a week. A paid campaign needs a curve that is at least as good as the market's top tier, or the bid target drifts out of reach. We read retention by cohort, by genre and by source, because a blended average hides the one channel dragging it down. Treat published numbers as context and set your own thresholds during soft launch, from a cohort that matches your intended audience, and recheck them after every major update.

Metric	Benchmark	Source
D1, all gaming apps (2025)	27%	FoxData, citing Adjust
D1, top 25% of games	26.48% to 27.69%	GameAnalytics
D1, bottom 25% of games	10% to 11.5%	GameAnalytics
D7, median across projects	3.42% to 3.94%	GameAnalytics
D7, top 25% of games	7% to 8%	GameAnalytics
D28, share of projects below 3%	75%	GameAnalytics

GameAnalytics reports D28 rather than D30, and its text gives no figures by genre. For category cuts, use our app retention benchmarks post or the Retention Benchmark Checker.

How do you test mobile game creatives, including playables and UGC?

Test one variable at a time, read early signals fast, and let ROAS make the final call. Unity's creative testing guide advises changing one thing per A/B test, treating the first 1 to 3 seconds as the hook that decides whether anyone sees the rest, and using early IPM to build a shortlist before D7 and D28 ROAS and retention settle the decision. It also warns that deciding within hours is a common mistake. We run gameplay cuts, UGC-style reactions and playables in a separate test campaign with a control creative, then move winners into scale campaigns. Because fatigue is quick, Unity notes that high-spend teams need new concepts entering rotation weekly or biweekly, with variants of proven winners filling the gaps. We keep that cadence with a written production queue so supply never stalls.

Playables

Unity says games teams often under-test interactive formats because they are harder to produce (Unity). Treat playables as a filter. A playable lets the player try the loop before installing, which can raise install quality, but cheap installs are not proof of value. Liftoff's 2022 creative index found playables had the lowest CPI of any format at $1.98 and also the weakest ROAS, 6.48% at D7 and 15.66% at D30 (GameDev Reports on Liftoff). That data is old, so we test playables against video in your own cohorts rather than assume either way.

UGC-style video

UGC means creator-style clips: a real person reacting to the game, or raw screen capture with a voice. They suit Meta Reels and TikTok, where polished trailers look like ads. We brief creators, edit cutdowns of the best clips, and test each hook against a proven body and call to action so you learn which opening works.

For proof that format testing pays, see our LunarLinc case study. It is a friendship app, not a game, but the creative lesson transfers: across 200 ads, 113 videos drove 41,420 installs while 83 image ads drove 468.

How should you run a mobile game soft launch?

A soft launch releases your game to a limited number of players, usually in selected countries, before the worldwide release. Its job is to prove retention and payback with real cohorts while mistakes are still cheap. a16z notes that to get 30 cohorts of D30 retention, a test has to run at least 60 days. Pick countries that resemble your target market in player behavior but cost less to buy. Fix thresholds in advance for D1, D7 and D30 and for early ROAS, and write down what happens if you miss them: iterate, pause or kill. Test one change at a time so you can read which update moved the curve. Run store-page and creative tests during the soft launch too, so the global launch starts with proven assets. A soft launch that only checks the game runs without crashes wastes its best opportunity.

Source for the definition and the 60-day rule: a16z, Mobile Game Soft Launch.

How we market each game genre

The same funnel needs different settings by genre. This is how we set them.

Hybrid-casual

Easy to learn, with a meta layer and both ads and purchases. We track blended ROAS, push for volume on TikTok and Meta, and watch whether the meta layer lifts D7. Because ad income and IAP both count, we do not cut a campaign on purchase ROAS alone.

Casual

Broad audiences and fast creative rotation. Gameplay shown in the first seconds, many hook variants, and bids tied to level-progress events that predict later spend or ad views.

Puzzle

Puzzle installs cost more than hyper-casual, so retention matters sooner. We lead with satisfying level moments and fail-state hooks, optimize on level completion, and work the store page hard, since puzzle players compare listings.

Midcore

Higher cost, higher player value. We use cinematic and progression-focused creative, optimize toward first purchase or tutorial completion, and use Apple Ads and Google search-style intent where players look for the genre by name.

How we grow mobile games, stage by stage

Stage	What decides it	Our service
Before launch	Store page, soft launch reads, prototype tracking	App Store Optimization
Install growth	Creative supply, channel mix, ROAS windows	Paid User Acquisition
Player value	Onboarding, LiveOps messaging, win-back	Retention & Lifecycle
Discovery beyond the store	Search and AI answers about your game and genre	SEO & AI Search
Build	Game backend, tracking SDKs, LiveOps tools, landing pages	App Development and Web & SaaS Development

Which channels fit which game

No channel wins for every title. This is how we match them, based on our work across app campaigns.

Channel	Best for	Watch out for
Meta (Facebook and Instagram)	Casual, hybrid-casual and puzzle at volume; UGC and video tests	Fast creative fatigue
TikTok	Hook-led casual and hybrid-casual; creator-style clips	Polished ads that look like ads
Google App campaigns	Scale across Search, YouTube, Play and partners; works with value-based bidding	Limited control over placements
Apple Ads	Players already searching by genre or title on iOS; midcore and strategy	Search volume limits scale
Rewarded and in-game ad networks	Volume for ad-monetized titles	Quality varies by source, so check D7
Creators and influencers	Midcore and story-driven games; content that doubles as ad creative	Track by code or link, not by views

Why store page tests belong in every game launch

Every paid click lands on your store page, so its conversion rate sets your real cost per install. Both stores let you test it for free. Apple's product page optimization lets a test include up to three treatments with alternate icons, screenshots and app previews, and a test can run for up to 90 days (Apple). Google Play lets you choose up to 2 variants against your current listing and recommends testing one asset at a time (Google Play Console Help).

We test the icon first, then screenshots that show the core loop. Start with the ASO Score.

Who should I hire to market my mobile game?

Hire ApsteQ if you run a hybrid-casual, casual, puzzle or midcore game and want one team to handle user acquisition, creative testing, store page tests and retention, with spend judged on D7 and D30 ROAS and retention instead of installs alone. We run Apple Ads, Google App campaigns, Meta and TikTok, plan soft launches before scaling spend, and test creative, including playables and UGC, on a regular cadence. You keep ownership of your ad accounts and data. We have driven 52M+ installs across 300+ apps and brands since 2015 and managed $2.5M+ in ad spend. Our published case studies are apps rather than games, so judge us on the plan: the Free App Growth Audit takes about 3 minutes and shows where your game leaks money. We are not the right choice if you want a publisher that funds your user acquisition, or a network that buys installs at volume with no reporting on payback.

What we see across 300+ apps

These are patterns from our work, not benchmarks. We have driven 52M+ installs and managed $2.5M+ in ad spend since 2015, and a few lessons repeat.

Creative supply is usually the bottleneck. Studios blame the network or the country. In most audits, the real problem is that only a few creatives are in rotation.
Teams optimize on installs because it is the easy number. Moving to purchase or value events changes which players the network finds, and it is the first change we make.
Retention gets fixed too late. Studios scale spend, then find a weak D1. Fixing onboarding first is cheaper than buying more installs.
Tracking breaks quietly. A missing purchase event or a wrong revenue value makes a profitable campaign look bad, so we check measurement before judging performance.

Track record

300+

apps and brands grown

52M+

installs driven

$2.5M+

ad spend managed

ApsteQ was founded in 2015. Read the full stories, including the video-versus-image test, at our case studies.

Mobile game marketing FAQ

What does a mobile game marketing agency do?

A mobile game marketing agency plans and runs the work that brings players to your game and keeps them: paid user acquisition, creative production and testing, store page optimization, soft launch planning, retention messaging and ROAS reporting. We tie each task to payback and retention instead of install counts.

How much does a game marketing agency cost?

It depends on your ad budget, how many creatives you need each week, how many networks we manage and whether you want retention and ASO included. We scope after the free audit, so the fee matches the work. We do not publish a flat price because no two games need the same mix.

Do you work with hybrid-casual, casual, puzzle and midcore games?

Yes. Each genre gets different creative, optimization events and ROAS targets. Hybrid-casual and casual lean on volume and fast creative rotation, puzzle on level progress and store page work, and midcore on purchase-based optimization with longer payback windows. We build the plan around your genre and your monetization model.

Can you help with a game that has not launched?

Yes. We plan the soft launch, set the retention and ROAS thresholds, test creatives and the store page, and give a go, fix or stop recommendation before you commit a global budget. Pre-launch is the cheapest time to find problems, and we treat it that way.

Is gaming app marketing different from other app marketing?

Yes. Games depend on a small group of paying or ad-engaged players, lose most installers within days, and burn through creatives quickly. That makes payback windows, D1 and D7 retention and creative volume more important than in subscription or utility apps. The channels are similar, but the targets differ.

How long until we see results?

Creative and store test reads arrive within weeks, and D7 cohort ROAS soon after. Reliable D30 and LTV curves need more time, because each cohort has to age. We agree checkpoints at the start so you know what to expect, and we do not promise a fixed payback date.

See where your game leaks money

Send us your game and we will audit your store page, tracking and funnel, then tell you what to fix first.