The Advertising Standards Authority has prohibited mobile advertisements from King, Scopely, and other companies for inaccurately portraying gameplay

Mobile advertisements from developers such as King and Scopely have been prohibited by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) due to misleading representations of gameplay. Furthermore, the ASA has also banned ads from Omnilojo in Singapore and Vistrex, also known as Royal Ark Games, in Cyprus.

Freddie Alcock, ASA's senior investigative officer, emphasized the necessity for mobile game ads to present an accurate depiction of the intended gameplay, ensuring they do not mislead users with scenarios non-existent in the actual game. Alcock stated the importance of allowing users to make well-informed choices regarding games, and assured continued action against any misleading ads.

The ASA prohibited a Facebook advertisement from King for Farm Heroes Saga, which misleadingly depicted a match-three puzzle where clearing icons resulted in a saw moving towards a cow—features not present in the game. Although King explained these were imaginative additions to create urgency, and referenced disclaimers, the ASA concluded the disclaimer did not clarify the ad effectively.

Similarly, an advertisement for Loom Games' Pixel Flow was removed as it contained elements absent from the actual gameplay. Earlier this year, Scopely acquired a majority interest in Loom Games.

In the case of Omnilojo's Dark War Survival, three Google ads were flagged for showing cinematic sequences instead of gameplay and featured graphics that differed significantly from the game. Additionally, one ad falsely claimed award wins with badges labeled as "2026 Game Creative" and "2026 Survival Game," which the developer attributed to the game's featuring on major app stores. Nonetheless, the ASA deemed these assertions misleading.

The ASA also banned an ad for Vistrex's Idle Zombie Miner: Gold Tycoon which was present on Facebook and Google Play. The ad was flagged for misrepresenting the game by displaying elements from a brief minigame rather than the full content of the game.