You can’t walk through a mobile gaming conference these days without seeing rewarded ads everywhere. Everyone’s talking about engagement, retention, and happier players.
And the numbers seem to back it up. Rewarded ad formats are climbing fast in performance rankings.
But with all the enthusiasm, it’s fair to ask: is this hype truly justified? Are rewarded ads really outperforming other formats, or are we seeing a short-lived trend that might fade by 2026?
In this article, we’ll unpack this year’s performance data, explore what’s driving the success of rewarded advertising, and look at what’s next for 2026.
- Rewarded ads are perceived more positively: 9 in 10 players interact with rewarded ads, and 85% say they enjoy in-game rewards.
- They drive stronger engagement and retention. Users who engage with rewarded ads can show up to 3.5x higher retention compared to those who don’t.
- Players who engage with rewarded ads are 4x more likely to make in-app purchases, turning non-payers into potential buyers.
- Rewarded ads have the highest eCPMs in mobile advertising, with offerwalls having an average eCPM of $530.
- Offerwalls attract the highest-quality players. Users acquired via offerwalls show +45.8% higher retention on D1, +86.1% on D7, and +71.7% on D14, proving stronger long-term engagement.
Rewarded Ads by the Numbers: Key Stats
9 in 10 Players Interact with Rewarded Ads
We all know that ad fatigue is real. You’ve probably experienced it too.
When a game or an app has too many ads, we tend to respond negatively, often by uninstalling the app altogether.
Rewarded advertising goes against the trend here.
In a recent research carried out by Emarketer and Discord, 65% of US marketers agreed that users prefer rewarded ads, and 46.3% of them say that rewarded ads make users feel more in control.
In fact, according to Digiday, 85% of mobile game players enjoy in-game rewards, and 9 in 10 actively interact with an ad to get the reward.
Being an opt-in ad format, rewarded advertising is perceived more positively because users choose to interact with the ad; it’s not forced on them.
Thanks to this, 66.9% of marketers also use rewarded advertising to reach those audiences that are typically harder to reach (Emarketer).
Ad Engagement Rates Are Consistently Higher
Overall, we’ve seen that rewarded ads have a higher engagement rate compared to other ad formats.
But they perform even better when they’re placed right and at the right time.
In its Mobile Growth and Monetization Report, Unity discovered that the rewards that drive the highest level of engagement are:
- Gacha (virtual lottery), 31.1%. Random rewards trigger curiosity and excitement, encouraging players to engage more often.
- Additional moves, 30.5%. Additional moves help users when they are about to lose a level. Offering a reward in that exact moment increases engagement.
- Daily rewards, 30.3%. Daily rewards incentivize players to return every day and stay active over time.
They have also found that there are certain types of games where engagement with rewarded ads is even higher than usual.
Here, we need to make a difference between rewarded video ads and offerwalls.
Rewarded video ads perform better in:
- Word puzzle games
- RPGs
- Casual games
On the other hand, offerwalls suit best:
- Strategy games
- City builders and management games
- Games with strong social elements
When the rewards are valuable and timed right, players will opt in more often.
Retention Can Go Up 3.5x Times with Rewarded Ads
Together with engagement, rewarded ads also show more positive retention rates.
At MAF, we’ve analyzed over 500 mobile games and noticed that rewarded ad campaigns tend to have a strong effect on longer retention, from day 7 to day 30.
If we look at industry averages, we see that retention rates from D7 to D30 are already quite low and then decrease drastically.
For example, simulation games have an average D7 retention rate of 2.4%, while D30 is 0.50%. Similarly, for puzzle games, D7 retention sits at 4.5% and 1.20% for D30.
From our internal data, games that have implemented an offerwall and launched a rewarded ad campaign, see much higher retention rates.
Let’s compare them below:
| Category | Average D7 | Average D30 | D7 with offerwall | D30 with offerwall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation | 2.4% | 0.50% | 22.4% | 7.7% |
| Puzzle | 4.5% | 1.20% | 25.2% | 6.4% |
| Casual | 3.3% | 0.70% | 22.1% | 8.2% |
| RPG | 2.1% | 0.43% | 6.7% | 4.1% |
| Casino | 5.5% | 1.90% | 17.8% | 6.15% |
This data is confirmed by other sources as well.
Unity found that users who convert via an offerwall have 2-7x higher retention compared to non-offerwall users:
- 45.8% higher retention rate on D1.
- 86.1% higher retention on D7.
- 71.7% higher retention on D14.
An ironSource study also showed that 30-day retention steadily increased with each rewarded video view, ranging from about 53% retention with just one ad view up to 68% with multiple views (Digiday).
In other words, users who engage with even a single rewarded video are far more likely to still be playing a month later.
Rewarded Advertising Can Increase IAPs
Rewarded ads give users extra lives, in-app currency, or free trials in exchange for their time. A perfect monetization method for non-paying users.
But what might come as a surprise is that rewarded advertising can actually turn these users into paying ones.
In fact, users who engage with rewarded ads are 4 times more likely to make in-app purchases compared to those who don’t (Unity).
This is because players coming from rewarded ad formats (especially offerwalls) are often of higher quality. So they show higher engagement, retention and LTV.
Unity shows that players’ spending increases significantly after engaging with an ad, with an average increase of +326% and peaks of +500%!
We noticed it, too.
After implementing Play2Earn and a rewarded campaign, ActionFit had a +18% increase in IAPs on iOS.
Rewarded Ads Have the Highest eCPM
Last but not least, rewarded advertising isn’t just great for UA, but for monetization as well.
The trend we’re seeing shows three main benefits:
- High eCPMs. For example, rewarded video ads in the United States have an average eCPM $16.49 on Android and $19.63 on iOS, while interstitial ads sit at $14.08 and $14.32, respectively. And if we look at offerwalls, the numbers are much higher, with an average of $530.
- Higher ARPDAU. In recent projects, we saw ARPDAU rise by +30% and +66% after implementing rewarded advertising campaigns.
- Happier users. Mobile gamers prefer rewarded ads to interstitials, 4-to-1.
What’s Next? Trends Shaping the Future of Rewarded Ads
As you may now understand, rewarded advertising is here to stay and flourish.
We can expect it to gain even more ground, with applications that go beyond mobile gaming.
Let’s take a look at some possible future trends.
AI-Powered Personalization
Artificial intelligence is going to make rewarded advertising even more targeted and dynamic.
With the help of AI, advertisers may tailor the type of reward or timing of an ad to individual users in real-time. For example, algorithms could determine which reward will get the best response from a user and then adjust offers to suit.
AI can also optimize when to show an ad. The goal is to maximize engagement and LTV by making the experience feel personal.
Beyond Gaming: New Uses for Rewarded Ads
Today, the majority of rewarded ads reward players with virtual currencies, such as in-app currency, extra lives, bonuses, etc.
However, there’s an ongoing trend that will likely become more popular: real-world rewards, such as gift cards, discount coupons, or real money payments.
An example?
Ana Group, a Japanese airline, has a loyalty app that allows users to collect air miles while moving. Recently, they also integrated MyChips offerwall and added a “Game Bonus” section, which rewards users with the same miles, but for playing games!
If, until now, rewarded advertising was almost exclusive to mobile games, now we can expect different industries and app genres to take advantage of rewarded ads.
Extended Campaign Windows
This point especially applies to offerwalls and playtime-based rewards.
Playtime-based rewards, like MAF’s Play2Earn format, reward users for the time they spend playing a game, rather than for the tasks accomplished.
While today most of the rewarded campaigns last around 30 days, there’s a new tendency for longer campaigns, like 60, 90, or even 128 days!
This approach has a double result:
- On the one hand, users can get a bigger reward than usual.
- On the other hand, longer campaigns mean higher retention rates and LTV for game developers.
Conclusion
Rewarded ads have become a key growth lever for both advertisers and developers.
The combination of user choice, engagement, and retention makes this format one that balances user satisfaction with business goals.
Looking ahead, we’ll see even greater innovation.
AI will personalize when and how rewards appear, gamified formats like Play2Earn will drive deeper session times, and real-world rewards will expand rewarded ads into lifestyle, fintech, loyalty apps, and more.
