CPI & ROI numbers have been collected from 1 May 2022 to 1 May 2023. Analysts covered 30B impressions, 1.1B clicks, and 5.5M installs.
- Liftoff considers shooting games, strategy titles, and RPGs as mid-core games.
- Midcore games earned 35% of overall mobile revenue on iOS in the US.
Overall numbers
- The average CPI of mid-core titles is at the level of $2.03. On Android it’s $0.73; on iOS – $3.86. Analysts note that traffic for mid-core titles is twice as expensive compared to casual games.
- An average D7 ROAS in mid-core games is 4.3%. On Android, it’s better – 6.1% while on iOS it’s lower – 3.4%.
- D7 ROAS from July 2022 to May 2023 was between 3.1% and 6.3%.
- In the last twelve months, the peak month by an average install price was in August 2022 – $2.81. The lowest one was in October 2022 – $1.66.
Benchmarks by markets
- The largest CPI is in North America – $5.45. In APAC it’s $1.37; in EMEA – $0.8; in LATAM – $0.27.
- However, D7 ROAS in North America is the best too – 4.5%. EMEA is next with 4.4%; APAC has 2.6%, and LATAM is behind with 1.5%. Based on the acquisition price and return ratio, EMEA is the best option to start marketing activities.
Benchmarks by genres
- CPI in shooters is $7.47. That’s a leader with a great margin. CPI in strategy titles is $2.77; in RPG – $0.6.
- D7 ROAS in shooters is 6%; in strategy titles – 5.4%; in RPG – 1.7%.
Trends
- Extraction shooters are becoming a new trend. Arena Breakout is the most popular new game and third among all shooters in China.
- More mid-core games are adding additional monetization layer in the form of event passes.
- Some mid-core games are adding a shop with a special currency inside the Battle Passes.
- A lot of mid-core titles opened off-store web shops to avoid paying commissions.
