_{What mobile players really think} about real-world rewards

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January 7, 2026

8 min read

Table of contents

Demand More from Your Ad Spend

Access our latest report “Rewarded Returns: The Player Perspective” featuring insights from over 2000 gamers, to understand how reward-based user acquisition is transforming acquisition, engagement, and user retention.

What's inside

State of rewarded applications adoption among mobile gamers

How rewards influence in-app purchases and retention

How reward platforms attract top spenders and affect play time

How mobile app developers can utilize new trends to achieve higher ROAS and LTV

Our latest report reveals how real-world rewards shape engagement, drive retention, and influence spending patterns among mobile gamers —insights that can give your next campaign a winning edge.

are more likely to try a new game if it offered real-world rewards

65%

of players say rewards make them play longer and more often

71%

continue to play games after the rewards end

85%

Download report

Tens of millions of users already visit and enjoy rewarded platforms, while mobile game companies adopt rewarded UA strategies to supercharge their competitive edge.

Responding to growing adoption of rewards-based UA strategies by mobile app developers, we studied how the players actually perceive and respond to real-world rewards – and how advertisers can benefit from these insights.

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Rewarded Returns Pt. 2

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Rewarded UA has earned its place alongside Google, Meta, and AppLovin in the mobile marketing mix. It has become a core channel because the additional user engagement delivered post ad-click drives retention and long-term value that other UA sources struggle to match.

Moritz Holländer

Founder, CEO at Almedia

By showcasing our game directly to people who already play games and tailoring offers around in-game behavior, Freecash helped us scale installs globally faster and more efficiently than traditional channels.

Saras Panigrahi

Marketing Director at Potato Play

Almedia teams deliver full-cycle support for launching campaigns in multiple markets. They monitor KPIs closely, tweak campaign setups in real time, and consistently share new optimization ideas that help elevate results.

Saras Panigrahi

Marketing Director at Potato Play

We required UA partners who can perform at high spend levels and still hit key metrics like retention and a positive return on investment while scaling our game installs.

Saras Panigrahi

Marketing Director at Potato Play

We have been successfully working with Almedia for several years and are looking forward to the next years to come.

Pascal Ludynia

CEO at Ayet Studio GmbH

Almedia’s Talented team delivering results at scale! Always available and supportive.

Ben Asbach

CEO at Bitburst GmbH

Working closely with Almedia, we built and optimized a strategy that outperformed our goals. With aligned targets, transparent feedback, and a shared drive for innovation, we created a funnel that delivered real impact at scale.

Adi Tubul

User Acquisition Manager at Candivore

Almedia stands out as a partner that not only scales but also focuses on long-term performance. They’ve become an essential part of our UA mix.

Antella Yu

User Acquisition Lead at Stillfront (Super Free Games)

Almedia helped us scale high-quality U.S. users across iOS and Android, driving a 120% uplift in Day 7 retention and ROAS while doubling our budget in a competitive market.

Hyekang Seo

UA Lead at Actionfit

Almedia enabled us to achieve consistent monthly growth with profitable margins, fostering a sustainable path to success and ensuring long-term profitability.

Mad Brain Games

Almedia drives top-quality users to our games, among the best of all UA channels. We're happy to keep scaling and strengthening our partnership with this talented team.

Mor Stone

VP of Marketing at Innplay Labs

This was more than a reactivation, it was a relaunch powered by insight. The results speak for themselves: 550% growth in daily spend, 2x competitor performance, and a successful iOS expansion.

Dukryul Kim

UA Manager, Treeplla

We came into this partnership with aggressive growth goals, and Freecash helped us blow past every one of them. Doubling our 30-day ROAS against top competitors was something we hadn’t achieved before.

San Heo

CEO, Treeplla

The close collaboration between Candivore and Almedia’s team allowed us to design and iterate on a strategy that exceeded our performance goals. Through aligned targets, transparent feedback loops, and a shared commitment to innovation, we built a funnel that drove meaningful impact at scale.

Adi Tubul

User Acquisition Manager at Candivore

Almedia offers the broadest worldwide geo coverage among all the incentivized partners we’ve worked with, giving us valuable insights into T2/T3 markets and helping us scale efficiently with lower CPIs.

Antella Yu

User Acquisition Lead at Stillfront (Super Free Games)

Almedia proved that rewarded UA can deliver both high ROAS and strong retention - a combination we hadn’t been able to achieve before. The process was smooth from start to finish, and the ongoing optimization made a huge difference in campaign success.

Jade Baeck

Senior Manager at SUPERBOX

Almedia delivered nearly 3x higher D30 retention compared to other rewarded channels: all while maintaining strong ROAS. It was the first time we found a UA partner that could truly balance both retention and profitability.

Jade Baeck

Senior Manager at SUPERBOX

Partnering with Freecash has been a great fit for our games and community. Their rewarding platform integrates naturally with our player experience, delivering strong engagement and meaningful value for both sides. We’re excited to continue expanding our collaboration and building long-term success together.

Dima Gorodnev

COO, Ovivo

What mobile players really think about real-world rewards

What's inside

are more likely to try a new game if it offered real-world rewards

of players say rewards make them play longer and more often

continue to play games after the rewards end

Download report

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_{What mobile players really think} about real-world rewards