Best Practices in User Acquisition for Mobile Games 2025

Preface: What This Guide Is About

User acquisition (UA) for mobile games has transformed dramatically in the last few years. Rising competition, stricter privacy policies, and rapid creative fatigue have made it harder than ever for both indie studios and mid-sized publishers to profitably scale their titles. Yet, the opportunity has never been bigger: global mobile gaming revenue continues to grow, new markets are emerging, and the best ad networks keep improving their machine learning models.

This article was written as a hands-on, practical, no-fluff guide for mobile game founders, UA managers, and growth teams looking to scale efficiently across the top performance channels: Google Ads, Mintegral, Unity Ads, Facebook (Meta), and TikTok. The best practices in this guide are based on 2025 algorithms, post-IDFA realities, and the newly dominant ad formats shaping mobile user acquisition.

If you are running a hybrid-casual, puzzle, RPG, simulation, idle, or mid-core mobile game, these strategies will help you:

Reduce CPI while maintaining profitable ROAS
Improve early retention (Day 1–3) from traffic quality
Understand how each ad network’s algorithm learns
Build a creative system that consistently produces winners
Structure budgets and bids so campaigns don’t stall
Take advantage of automated UA while still maintaining control
Scale profitably without relying on a single ad network

This is a deep-dive—not a surface-level list—so you can treat it as your 2025 Mobile Game UA playbook.

Best Practices in User Acquisition for Mobile Games

1. Google Ads: Scaling with UAC (App Campaigns) Effectively

Google remains one of the most stable and scalable channels for mobile games. But to get the most out of UAC, you must tailor your strategy around machine learning, asset quality, and event prioritization.

1.1 Structure Only 1–2 Campaigns per Geo

Unlike meta networks, UAC punishes over-segmentation. One strong campaign per country (or a cluster of similar markets) achieves faster learning and higher quality traffic.

1.2 Prioritize High-Value Events Early

Best practices for event prioritization:

Install → Tutorial Complete
D1 Retention → Level 3 Complete
Add-to-Cart Equivalent (soft currency/IAP trigger)
Purchase

This helps the algorithm understand your quality signals from Day 1.

1.3 Feed UAC With Creative Variety

Google needs text lines, images, HTML5, and multiple video formats.
Mandatory minimum:

5 landscape videos
5 portrait videos
5 square videos
5 images
5 short text lines
Optional: HTML5 playable (high performance for games)

1.4 Avoid Frequent Creative Resets

UAC resets its learning phase when you change:

Event goal
Target CPA/ROAS
Creative bundles

Only rotate 1–2 creatives at a time.

1.5 Scaling Strategy

Begin with tCPA for installs or early funnel events.
Switch to tROAS after enough post-install signals accumulate.
Increase budgets by 20–30% at a time to avoid rapid CPI spikes.

2. Mintegral: Best Network for APAC & Playable Ads

Mintegral is especially strong in Asia (China, Japan, Korea, SEA) and performs well for hypercasual, hybrid casual, puzzle, and idle games.

2.1 Always Use Playable Ads

Mintegral’s playable format delivers stronger Day 1 retention and cheaper CPI. For games with simple mechanics (match, idle, simulation, merge, puzzle), playables often cut CPI by 20–40%.

2.2 Use the Standard + Smart Optimization Combo

Recommended campaign structure:

Campaign 1: Standard CPI Bid
Campaign 2: Smart/Auto Optimization (no bid or broad bid)

Allow both to run for 3–5 days, then scale the better one.

2.3 Start with T1 and Tier 2 APAC Markets

Strongest countries on Mintegral include:

Singapore
Malaysia
Philippines
Indonesia
Thailand
Japan
Korea
Taiwan

You get lower CPIs and generally high D1–D3 retention.

2.4 Creative Best Practices

Playables focusing on first 3 seconds of gameplay
Multiple CTA variations
Fast gameplay speed
Bright UI and clear objectives
“Action + Reward” framing (win coins, merge items, harvest crops, etc.)

3. Unity Ads: Strong for Gaming Traffic & High LTV Users

Unity is one of the best UA channels for games because its users already play other games. This results in better monetization for titles with rewarded video or interstitial revenue.

3.1 Optimize for ROAS, Not CPI

Unity learns faster when you feed it purchase or IAP conversion data.
For ad-monetization-heavy games, optimize for:

Ad Impression Signal
Ad Revenue Signal (ADM tracking)
Rewarded Video Trigger Event

3.2 Use Multiple Creative Packs

Unity allows up to 15–30 assets. High-performing formats:

15s portrait video
30s portrait (for mid-core)
Playables (top performer)
End-card variations

3.3 Set a Wide Bid Range

Instead of micro-managing your bid:

Use broad bid ranges
Keep budget above 2x your target CPI
Avoid pausing campaigns too early

Unity needs volume to learn.

3.4 Best Performing Genres on Unity

Hybrid casual
Idle
Puzzle
Simulation
Merge
RPG (mid-core)

4. Facebook Ads (Meta): Still the Best for Precision Targeting

Meta remains incredibly strong for LTV-based scaling despite privacy changes. Great for games requiring higher-value users or niche audiences.

4.1 Campaign Structure

Use the “3×3 structure”:

3 campaigns
3 ad sets each
3–5 creatives per ad set

Avoid audience over-segmentation—broader is usually better.

4.2 Monetization-Based Optimization

Signal suggestions:

Level Completion
Add-to-Cart Equivalent
Tutorial Complete
Purchase
Revenue Event (via SKAN or AEM)

4.3 Creative Best Practices

Portrait videos perform best. Winning Meta formats:

15s portrait gameplay
Meme-style gameplay with captions
UGC + gameplay mix
Character-focused storytelling
Bold hooks in the first 1.5 seconds

4.4 Scaling Strategy

Keep ROAS stable for 2–3 weeks before major budget increases
Use Advantage+ campaigns once you have 30+ creative assets
Duplicate winning ad sets instead of editing the original

5. TikTok Ads: The Creative-First Platform for Mobile Games

TikTok is now one of the cheapest CPI channels but requires strong video production. It rewards native, fast, high-energy content.

5.1 Use High-Volume Creative Testing

TikTok’s algorithm heavily favors:

Frequent creative refresh
Fast-cut editing
UGC + gameplay hybrid videos

Expect to produce 20–40 creatives per month minimum.

5.2 Creative Style

Winning TikTok formats:

Hook in the first 0.5 seconds
UGC “fake review” style
Reaction-style clips
“I bet you can’t beat this level…”
Unusual gameplay angles
Vertical gameplay with bold captions
TikTok sound trends integrated subtly

5.3 Best Audiences

Broad Audience
Lookalike based on events
Retargeting for IAP-heavy games

5.4 Scaling Strategy

Run Spark Ads to use influencer-style creatives
Use TikTok’s optimization for retention or value events
Keep budget increases gradual (20–30% increments)

Cross-Network Best Practices: What Applies Everywhere

1. Focus on Early Retention

Your creative directly impacts:

D1 Retention
Tutorial Completion
Ad Revenue per User
ROAS Tracking Stability

Use pre-tutorial gameplay hooks in ads so users know exactly what to expect.

2. Build a Creative Pipeline

Winning teams use:

Weekly creative testing
Monthly refresh cycles
Creative analytics dashboards
Strong variation testing (color, UI, CTA, gameplay pace)

3. Don’t Pause Campaigns Too Early

Let campaigns run for at least 3–5 learning days unless CPI is extremely high. You should see your LTV and D0 ROAS climb in this period on your MMP.

4. Optimize Your App Store Before Scaling

Your store should reflect your ad creatives.
Update:

Icon
Preview video
Screenshots
First sentence of the description
Promos and seasonal events

5. Use a Multi-Network Mix

No single network performs at 100% all the time.
A healthy UA mix:

Google Ads for scale
Facebook for LTV
TikTok for cheap volume
Unity for gaming traffic
Mintegral for APAC and playables