Gaming ad networks play a crucial role in the digital advertising ecosystem by bridging the gap between advertisers, game developers, and app publishers. Their primary function is to identify premium ad spaces within mobile games and apps, providing a platform where advertisers can showcase their ads effectively. As mobile applications dominate the display advertising landscape, brands are eager to leverage top gaming ad networks to maximize their reach and drive engagement.
One of the most renowned gaming ad networks is Chartboost, boasting over 900 million monthly active users and 200 billion monthly ad requests. Chartboost uses automatic optimization of ad inventory, helping advertisers boost revenue through well-placed ad impressions.
What is a Gaming Ad Network?
A gaming ad network specializes in placing ads within mobile games and apps, enabling developers and advertisers to effectively monetize their content. One of the leading examples of successful monetization through gaming ad networks is PUBG, a popular mobile game. PUBG demonstrates the power of audience monetization, where in-app advertising presents a simpler and more accessible revenue stream compared to in-app purchases.
These networks connect advertisers with the best ad placements for their campaigns, using user interests, location, and other targeting options to ensure the ads reach the most relevant audience. For game developers and app publishers, gaming ad networks are a vital tool for running precise ad campaigns and generating income through ad space sales.
How Do Gaming Ad Networks Work?
In-game advertising has proven to be a highly effective method of monetizing mobile games by selling ad space. These ads come in different formats, such as:
- Rewarded video ads: Offer in-game rewards to users for watching ads, leading to higher engagement.
- Banner ads: Displayed at the top or bottom of the game screen for subtle ad integration.
Gaming ad networks manage the entire process, ensuring that ads are placed in a way that maximizes user engagement while generating revenue for developers. The goal is to balance user experience and monetization without disrupting gameplay.
Benefits of Using Gaming Ad Networks:
Gaming ad networks offer a wide array of advantages, making them an essential part of mobile game monetization strategies:
- Instant-Play Video Technology: Ensures ads load quickly and play seamlessly, maintaining a smooth user experience.
- Interactive HD Videos: High-quality videos that invite users to engage with the ad, enhancing brand interaction.
- Demographic Targeting: Tailors ads to specific audience demographics, increasing relevance and engagement.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Ad campaigns run smoothly on both Android and iOS platforms, broadening the reach.
- Boosts In-App Sales: By raising brand awareness, gaming ads can lead to more in-app purchases and higher player engagement.
- Enhanced ROI Tracking: Provides robust tracking tools to measure the return on investment (ROI) and monitor ad performance.
- Improved User Experience: Ads are integrated in a way that maintains the flow of gameplay, keeping players engaged.
- Brand Safety: Gaming ad networks ensure that ads appear in appropriate, brand-safe environments, protecting advertiser reputations.
- Increased Engagement and Retention: Rewarded ads encourage players to stay engaged and participate in more game activities.
- Higher Participation Rates: Incentivizing ads through rewards often results in better participation and retention rates among players.
Best Gaming Ad Networks In 2024:
Here is the list of top 15+ Best Gaming Ad Networks for Affiliates and Advertisers to join in 2024 and 2025.
- Media.Net
- Unity Ads
- AdColony
- Chartboost
- Vungle
- Applovin
- StartApp
- Mintegral
- Mistplay
- InMobi
- AdsCompass
- Moloco
- Digital Turbine
- AdAction
- IronSource
1. Media.Net:
One of the contextual advertising networks that is quickly growing is Media.net, which assists publishers in monetizing the space on their blogs or websites by displaying pertinent keyword tags.
They promote endorsed products and premium display ads in an effort to operate efficient marketing campaigns. The advertising network collaborates with a number of well-known publishers and ad tech companies.
Media.Net has developed a display-to-search (D2S) ad type based on search behavior and future keywords. On many platforms, including those for mobile games, this process appears before adverts.
Customers can customize ad units and alter the ad structure by selecting Media.Net as their advertising network. Media.Net may display adverts in gaming apps even when a user’s game screen is moving.
Pros:
- You can join for free and never pay a dime.
- It provides a potent dashboard. You may monitor how well your website or blog is performing with the use of the reports and graphs.
- The industry’s finest Revenue Per Thousand Impressions (RPM) is now available.
2. Unity Ads:
Mobile game developers can use this advertising platform for Unity-based games to display native advertisements. Unity Ads searches for players who are most likely to provide superior long-term value in addition to employing machine learning to aid developers in user acquisition. Through Unity Ads, gamers’ interest and mobile advertising are linked.
To keep Android users interested in gaming, Unity Ads has maintained its dominance (Unity Ads, AppLovin, ironSource). Given that Unity Ads network’s primary focus is mobile game advertising, its performance in retaining players is hardly surprising.
One of this network’s key features is the ability to target users who are interested in a particular gaming genre. Unity Ads’ success is also credited to its focus on native video advertising. Of course, it also supports more ad formats, such banner or interstitial ads.
Pros:
- One day, while promoting mobile applications, you find yourself having to buy traffic from advertising networks.
- Â Unity Ads is one of the most well-known ad networks with reliable traffic. Unity Ads are used by advertisers to attract worthwhile users.
3. AdColony:
It is crucial to cooperate with ad networks that have established connections inside the gaming industry. Leading companies like Walmart and ABC News collaborate with the mobile advertising network AdColony.
For financial advantage, high-definition video ad campaigns are managed through a platform called AdColony. The fonts and color scheme of the adverts can be customized by app developers.
At AdColony, you may buy digital advertising. It uses Instant-Play video technology, Aurora HD spatial design, and minimum advertising investment. This network offers CPI and CPC payment methods and is a shining example of improved mobile advertising procedures.
Pros:
- Transparent
- Â Huge stock
4. Chartboost:
For years, Chartboost has consistently ranked highly on Appflyer’s Retention Index. It performs the role of a free straight market. Because it offers publishers access to the ad space, you have control over who can run a commercial in your app. Free cross-promotion for interstitial and video ads is one of the platform’s main benefits.
With Chartboost, you can directly manage ad campaigns and give users control over their ad space while generating revenue for your mobile gaming game. You can specify the type of advertisement that will be updated in a certain ad unit thanks to this.
With more than 900 million monthly active users and more than 200 billion monthly ad requests, Chartboost is one of the most reputable gaming ad networks. Chartboost automatically optimizes the inventory of adverts used by advertisers to increase revenue from ad impressions.
Zynga’s Chartboost, a mobile game developer, offers a variety of ad types for gaming apps. It provides game developers with an average 90% revenue share. A CPI payment method is accepted by Chartboost.
Pros:
- Highly immersive format with great conversion rates.
- Â Opt-in video has higher return because viewers can earn in-game awards for watching all of the advertising
5. Vungle:
Vungle, which has data-optimized advertising on more than 1 billion devices, is one of the most reliable gaming ad networks for game developers. They work with Vungle to gain the most exposure, engagement, and conversion possible globally.
Vungle, a mobile advertising network, includes a number of distinctive features. It just serves video advertisements. The in-app advertising platform Vungle is available on a number of different platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon.
It also presents chances for targeted advertising that is unique. As bidding models, it provides CPA, CPM, CPC, and CPI. Vungle’s main objective is to generate revenue for mobile game developers through their apps. For tracking user acquisition campaigns, the platform protects privacy and offers precise insights.
Pros:
- On the network level, you can operate based on CPI.
- Robust in the US. There’s a tone of inventory.
- Very quick SSP integration and a strong technical staff.
6. Applovin:
One of the few ad networks that just delivers mobile advertisements is AppLovin. It includes all types of advertisements, from banners to videos. This ad network relies on the merging of many forms to create a sizable advertising community and deliver exceptional results.Â
AppLovin has slipped one rank from the last Retention Index. Even yet, it is still ranked second in the Gaming Triopoly. The primary goal of this network is to identify high-quality users via campaign analysis. This platform offers videos, banners, interstitials, and adverts for installing mobile apps.
Pros:
- very high caliber Their CTRs are higher than the norm.
- Excellent customer service crew that is friendly and helpful Exclusive publishers, primarily in the gaming field
7. StartApp:
StartApp is a recent mobile app publishing and monetization platform that focuses on free apps. By introducing search advertising to mobile devices, Startapp works with app developers to help monetize their free apps more efficiently.
Despite offering app walls, native ads, video commercials, and 360 apps, StartApp focuses mostly on interstitial advertisements. StartApp links publishers of games with marketers who create interactive adverts with distinctive graphics. StartApp combines marketers who offer interactive adverts with game creators. You can search through an indefinite number of viewers and segments worldwide.
Pros:
- Ad forms include video ads, interstitial adverts, app walls, and native advertisements.
- Type of CPM campaign
- This ad network employs the eCPM idea to guarantee that clients get paid the highest amount of money feasible.
8. Mintegral:
The previous Retention index does not include this ad network in the top 15 list. In terms of mobile gaming advertising, it is currently right behind three industry giants. Mintegral excelled the most in three mobile gaming subgenres: music, simulator, and mid-core, winning first place in six separate categories.
Mintegral is an advertising platform with roots in Asia and a global reach. It currently works with over 26,000 app partners and takes part in more than 20 international ad exchanges.
Mintegral offers businesses all over the world options for customer acquisition and revenue generation that are made possible by AI. It provides marketing services for DSP and SSP, as well as supply and demand.
Pros:
- Obtain quality customers. Through our premium global traffic, compelling creatives, and industry-leading ad optimization algorithms, you can attract quality users and scale your campaigns.
- increase ad revenue Utilize cutting-edge in-app bidding technology to increase your app’s ad income and monetization efforts.
- eye-catching artistic work.
9. Mistplay:
Using the Mistplay app, users may play games to accumulate points that can later be exchanged for coupons and vouchers. Users can choose a game from a list of available games, browse local bargains, chat with other users, and win rewards merely for playing free games, among other things.
The more you play, the more money you’ll make. In the most recent Retention Index, this advertising network was listed for the first time. Having rejoined the ranks, it is undoubtedly succeeding in maintaining its standing. The typical advertising network isn’t Mistplay. The app originally started out as a way to reward players of mobile games.
Mistplay works with game developers to create entertainment and examines data on user behavior to recommend new games to players. As users keep playing the suggested game, they gain more trust points.
They provide people with actual gift cards in exchange for the units gathered. In essence, gamers receive incentives for doing nothing more than playing video games.
Pros:
- The app is authentic and pays on time.
10. InMobi:
A global ad network called InMobi makes the claim that mobile ads will become less intrusive and impersonal. The business, which started out as an SMS-based search engine in 2007, eventually shifted its emphasis to relying on data about a user’s location and app preferences to provide advertisements that feel natural and are incorporated into their mobile computing interaction.
InMobi concentrates on showing HD visuals to mobile gaming players in order to maximize ROI on the digital platform.
InMobi has made a name for itself as a top ad network for app developers by focusing on appographics. Appographic targeting refers to the targeted use of an app by a particular audience. Then, it generates a number of relevant HD mobile advertisements.
Pros:
- Great supplier of bringing in new consumers to mobile app
- Driving genuine consumers to the app without the fluff
- Recognize and identify the target demographic
11. AdsCompass:
With the help of the marketing tool Adscompass, you may make money from both desktop and mobile users. Open RTB, XML Feeds, Directlink, and Popup Banner are just a few of the advertising platforms used by the network. Adscompass is particularly interesting to publishers because there are no restrictions on traffic volume.
To get the best results, the ad network constantly directs publisher traffic to satisfy advertiser needs. It can be specifically targeted using factors like device kind, geo-targeting, time zone IP, browser version, and others. The most popular ad types, including Push, Native, In-App, and Pop-up ads, are supported by them.
Pros:
- A lot of publishers are adept at attracting top-notch readers.
- a good selection of advertisements
12. Moloco:
Moloco is a Palo Alto, California-based ad tech startup that offers a mobile audience network for user acquisition, interaction, and monetization. The business manages massive advertisements for businesses looking to monetize their apps and boost their earnings.
Programmatic UA and AI-driven mobile app advertising are both services provided by MOLOCO. It also features MOLOCO Cloud, a platform for self-serve real-time bidding. To enable app bidding, this platform recently transitioned to Google Cloud.
Pros:
- You may locate lookalike players that are most likely to become paying customers with Moloco Cloud DSP, which will increase your ad revenue.
-  In order to continue reaching gamers who are most likely to become whales and maximize acquisition for purchase, going beyond basic installs, Moloco’s machine learning enters the picture.
13. Digital Turbine:
In order to enable responsible mobile entertainment production, Digital Turbine, Inc. offers a mobile services platform that works with cell carriers and independent publishers to maintain websites, improve user experience, create content, and manage pricing.
To enhance ad impressions, Digital Turbine helps game advertisers and mobile game developers communicate. The company acquired AdColony, one of the largest mobile advertising networks in the world, in February 2021.
Pros:
- Digital turbine simplifies content discovery and delivers it directly to the device.
- Its On-Device Media Platform powers frictionless appÂ
14. AdAction:
Leading gaming ad network AdAction offers top-notch content based on current data. AdAction is recognized for maximizing conversion advertising and for creating the maximum involvement.
Since 2013, AdAction has concentrated on providing high traffic to publishers all around the world. With a user-centric strategy, AdGem, AdAction’s top reward monetization marketplace, connects marketers to active audiences globally.Â
Their cutting-edge technology gives users the best native ad experience imaginable while enabling marketers and developers to deliver quality at scale. CPI, CPC, CPE, and CPA pricing models, as well as mobile gaming ad networks and platforms for advertising, are all things that AdAction assists with.
Pros:
- annual average of more than 80 million conversions
- data-driven improvements
- a large selection of media from more than 1200 sources
- reaching approximately 250 countries worldwide
- Client retention rate of over 85%
15. IronSource:
A leading business platform called ironSource enables mobile content producers to succeed in the app market. This ad network has dropped one rank on Android during the last Retention Index, which is a little setback. It is hence last in the Gaming Triopoly.
IronSource offers a range of services for automated bid optimization across many splits. You can also integrate a variety of ad formats, including movies, interstitial ads, and offer walls. IronSource has better retention rates than games in the genres of music, sports, adventure, arcade, and simulation.
Pros:
- A huge video library.
- Premium stock in Tier 1 nations.
- Manageable platform.