75% of paying mobile gamers delete games with misleading elements immediately after installation, but "whales" are unaffected by it — analytics
Mobile marketing expert Matej Lancaric surveyed about 200 gamers from the United States who regularly spend money on mobile games. He was interested in their attitude towards misleading ads.
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Three-quarters of the respondents told Lancaric that they do not play games where the gameplay is different from what is shown in the advertisement. They delete such titles as soon as they realize they have encountered misleading content.
Additionally, 40% of gamers reported that they write negative reviews for games with misleading ads, and 27% request refunds.
Nevertheless, 17% of gamers admitted that misleading ads do not deter them. As the expert noted, this category typically includes so-called "whales" — users who generate 60-80% of revenue in 4X strategies, simulators, social casinos, and various other games.
"Whales don't care about fake advertising. They're interested in the depth of the games, progress, and competition. And if misleading ads can reduce your CPI from $60 to $15, then the math wins. This happens every time. The industry continues to debate morality, but fake advertising isn't a creative or player relationship issue. It's a unit economics issue," Lancaric concluded.