• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 6, 2016

A new study from game development platform Unity Technologies takes a look at how what they call "rewarded video ads" are received and how they can help mobile developers better monetize their games and drive user engagement. Rewarded video ads are just ads that offer the player something (game points, extra lives, a chance to win game currency) in return for watching the in-game ad. 

The survey queried more than 2,000 mobile game developers and players and the key findings include:

• 52 percent of mobile game developers identify video ads as providing the highest revenue per user compared to any other type of in-game advertising
• 71 percent of players choose watching video ads as their preferred way to "pay" for game content and 54 percent of the total choose rewarded video specifically
• Almost 80 percent of players confirmed they are open to engaging with video ads for in-game rewards
• Less than 1 in 10 developers saw retention drop after introducing rewarded video ads
• 86 percent of developers who integrated rewarded video ads saw increased or unaffected in-app purchasing

Of the findings, Unity Technologies Director of Ads Jarkko Rajamaki said: "Rewarded video ads are a key monetization and engagement method quickly growing in popularity with today's mobile game developer community. When properly integrated into gameplay, video ads -- especially rewarded video ads -- have a positive impact on the player's experience and can help developers monetize their games and increase player engagement."

The full report, "In-Game Advertising the Right Way" can be found here. Yes, it's a self-serving, lead-generating report download, but it does contain some useful insights.