Neo Ads Edition #10
This week’s edition covers gaming app trends, subscription-based growth, and a deep dive into Merge Mansion’s comeback. Let’s get into it!
In this 🌑 Neo Ads edition:
📖 Gaming App Insights 2025 by Adjust
🔄 Merge Mansion: Reclaiming the Top Spot by AppMagic
🧚♀️ The Mobile Gaming industry can no longer ignore Women by NeoAds
💰 The State of Subscription Apps 2025 by RevenueCat
🔮 +3 handpicked Linkedin posts
📖 Gaming App Insights 2025 by Adjust 🔗 LINK
Gaming app installs grew by 4% YoY in 2024, but session engagement declined, highlighting a growing retention challenge across markets.
LATAM (+8%) and MENA (+10%) led in growth, while North America saw the steepest decline (-11% installs, -14% sessions), signaling shifting market dynamics.
Strategy game installs skyrocketed (+83% YoY), while casino game sessions surged by 32%, showcasing genre-specific engagement trends.
Why you should care: Top markets like the US & Japan are seeing declines in engagement, retention, and monetization, while emerging regions like LATAM and MENA are experiencing strong growth. Understanding where user behavior is shifting can help optimize UA strategies and monetization efforts for 2025.
🔄 Merge Mansion: Reclaiming the Top Spot by AppMagic 🔗 LINK
After years at the top of the Merge-2 genre, Merge Mansion saw its revenue plateau in 2023, facing intense competition from Gossip Harbor, Travel Town, and Seaside Escape. However, in 2024, Metacore turned things around, leading to a record-breaking $12M revenue month in December 2024, a 50% increase from its lowest point in February.
What fueled the comeback?
🔥 LiveOps overhaul: Merge Mansion quadrupled its event frequency, going from 8 events in January to over 20 by year-end, adding more engaging & monetizable formats.
🎯 Smarter monetization: a mix of limited-time passes, reskinned events, and competitive mechanics drove higher spending while keeping engagement high.
📊 Player motivation expansion: by introducing PvP, collection events, and narrative-driven content, the game broadened its audience appeal, improving both retention and revenue.
Why you should care:
Merge Mansion’s recovery is a masterclass in LiveOps & monetization. If you’re working on game growth, UA, or engagement strategies, this is a must-read case study on turning a mature game around and outpacing the competition.
🧚♀️ The Mobile Gaming industry can no longer ignore Women by NeoAds 🔗 LINK
Women are mobile gaming’s most engaged, high-value players. Yet, they remain underserved.
Nearly 50% of gamers are women, yet most mobile games are still designed for a male audience. They also engage more deeply, playing 21.4 minutes per day, a 17.4% YoY increase (Mobile Games Index 2024 by adjoe).
This article explores the role of women in the mobile gaming industry, highlighting their impact, challenges, and contributions to shaping the future of gaming. From development to leadership, the article dives into how representation is evolving and what still needs to change.
The Mobile Gaming industry can no longer ignore Women
Studios are closing, successful teams are being laid off, budgets are being squeezed. The market is oversaturated.
💰 The State of Subscription Apps 2025 by RevenueCat 🔗 LINK
Subscription-based apps continue to evolve, with retention, pricing models, and hybrid monetization shaping the future. The report breaks down the latest benchmarks, renewal trends, and growth strategies for app developers navigating the competitive subscription economy in 2025.
What you’ll find:
How subscription apps are keeping users engaged with renewal rates & retention benchmarks.
Monthly vs. annual plans, and the rise of hybrid monetization with pricing strategy insights.
User acquisition challenges, and why CAC is rising and how apps are adapting.
The impact of web-to-app subscriptions & cross-platform expansion.
Why you should care:
Subscription apps are evolving fast, understanding key trends in retention & monetization is crucial for long-term success.
🔮 +3 handpicked Linkedin posts
📖 Anastasia Kudrow shares 3 must-know methods that can help apps find the right price, improve conversion rates and drive high-intent users to apps.
James McLoughlin dives into Calm’s growth strategy, the meditation app, highlighting key tactics in a highly competitive space.
Julie Tonna explores the impact of app reviews on ASO, breaking down how user feedback can shape visibility, conversion rates, and overall app performance.
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