Key Points

  • The global in-game advertising market is set to more than double by 2032, reaching a whopping $17.9 billion
  • Mobile gaming dominates, accounting for 90.4% of US in-game ad revenue
  • Intrinsic in-game ads are crushing it with 34.1% action rates while being considered the least disruptive
  • Your audience is probably bigger (and more diverse) than you think, with 46% of gamers being women

Ready Player One: The Gaming Audience is Massive (And Growing)

If you're still thinking of gamers as Mountain Dew-chugging teenagers in their parents' basement, it's time for a reality check. The gaming audience has evolved faster than a Pokémon on rare candy, and the numbers are staggering.

We're talking about 3.2 billion gamers globally in 2024. That's not a typo – that's nearly half the world's population picking up controllers, tapping screens, and mashing keyboards. And here's where it gets really interesting: 46% of these gamers are women, completely shattering that "gaming is just for guys" myth that somehow still persists.

 

The Mobile Gaming Gold Rush

Remember when "real gaming" meant consoles or nothing? Those days are as dead as a Dark Souls player facing their first boss. Mobile gaming has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the industry, and the revenue numbers prove it:

  • Mobile gaming will make up 90.4% of US in-game ad revenue in 2024
  • 2.7 billion people are mobile gamers (yes, billion with a B)
  • Three-quarters of mobile-only gamers are female

Here's the kicker: the smartphone and tablet segment is growing faster than a battle royale player count, with an 11.9% CAGR that's set to hit $7.87 billion by 2030.

The Ad Format Face-Off

Not all ad formats are created equal, and the data shows some clear winners and losers in the battle for player attention. Let's break it down:

Most Experienced Ad Formats

If you want to know where the ad dollars are flowing in gaming, follow the eyeballs. Our data shows a pretty wild spread in terms of what players are actually seeing in their gaming sessions, and spoiler alert – it's not exactly aligning with what drives the best results. 

Let's break down what players are actually experiencing in the wild (and why that might not be what's best for your revenue):

  • Interstitial ads: 45%
  • Intrinsic in-game ads: 22.8%
  • Adjacent ads: 11.8%
  • Audio ads: 4.5%
  • No ads: 16%

But here's where it gets interesting. Just because players see an ad format more often doesn't mean it's working. In fact, the data suggests quite the opposite.

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The Disruption Factor

Interstitial ads might be everywhere, but they're also the most likely to make players rage quit, with 54% of gamers finding them disruptive. Meanwhile, intrinsic in-game ads are sitting pretty with only 23.9% of players finding them bothersome.

Show Me the Money: Action Rates

When it comes to actually driving action (you know, the thing advertisers actually care about), here's how the formats stack up:

  • Intrinsic ads: 34.1% (The clear winner)
  • Interstitial: 27.2%
  • Adjacent: 24.1%
  • Audio: 15.3%

The numbers don't lie – intrinsic ads are crushing it in terms of actual player engagement, which means if you're not exploring this format, you're essentially leaving money on the virtual table.

The Platform Wars

While mobile is dominating the revenue game, let's not forget about our friends in the console and PC space. Here's how the in-game ad revenue pie gets sliced:

  • Mobile: 55% (The obvious heavyweight)
  • Console: 25% (Still packing a punch)
  • PC: 20% (Never count out the PC master race)

Sure, mobile is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, but smart publishers are building cross-platform strategies that tap into the unique engagement patterns (and wallets) of console and PC gamers.

What This Means for Advertisers

Let's cut to the chase: if you're not already doing in-game advertising, you're probably thinking about it. With the market expected to hit $17.9 billion by 2032, this train has already left the station.

But here's the real talk: success in this space isn't just about slapping ads wherever they'll fit. It's about understanding gaming audiences (which is probably more diverse than you think), knowing how to navigate gaming platforms, choosing the right ad formats, and implementing them in a way that maximizes your KPIs.

Why Your Gaming Strategy Needs More Than Just In-Game Bling

Let's be real for a second – in-game advertising is the influencer of the gaming world. It's flashy, gets lots of attention, and makes for great PR moments. But building your entire strategy around in-game activations? That's like trying to win a battle royale with just a pickaxe.

Here's the cold truth that nobody wants to talk about: in game advertising statistics are about as measurable as your teenager's mood swings. Want to know your viewability metrics? Conversion data? Even basic click-through rates? 

Good luck with that. Most in-game activations give you all the measurement capabilities of a brick wall. And for marketers who need to justify their spend (aka everyone who doesn't have money trees growing in their backyard), this creates some obvious problems.

But wait, it gets better. Remember that super cool Roblox activation you just dropped six figures on? Try finding it without a direct link. The discoverability of in-game advertising is about as good as your chances of finding that one specific YouTube video from 2012 – if YouTube had no search function and everything was randomly organized. Plus, these flashy moments are usually one-and-done deals. 

They're great for a temporary buzz but terrible for building consistent audience engagement. Supporting your in-game campaigns with traditional digital media can boost engagement by 20-25%, turning those fleeting moments into lasting impact.

The solution isn't to abandon in-game advertising entirely – it's to build a strategy that balances those flashy moments with measurable, scalable media tactics. 

Think of it like building a proper gaming setup: your fancy RGB lighting (in-game activations) might look cool, but you still need a solid motherboard (consistent media presence) and reliable RAM (measurable performance metrics) to actually run the game.

Just the Stats, Please

If you’re just looking for the stats quoted in the article and their sources, look no further:

Market Size and Growth

The global in-game advertising market was valued at approximately $7.6 billion in 2023 (source).

The in-game advertising market is expected to reach US$ 17.9 Billion by 2032 (source).

The US mobile games market alone is estimated to reach $7.77 billion by the end of 2024 (source).

The Smartphone and tablet segment is expected to grow from $2,820.4 million in 2021 to $7,873.1 million by 2030, with highest CAGR of 11.9% (source).

Total US in-game ad revenue is estimated to be $8.59 billion by the close of 2024, with mobile game ads making up 90.4% of that revenue (source).

The Asia-Pacific region in gaming specifically is expected to grow at 12.6% CAGR, generating $4,855.3 million by 2030 (source).

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Player Demographics

As of 2024, approximately 3.2 billion people play video games globally (source).

In 2023, 46% of gamers were women (source).

As of 2024, the largest age group of gamers are between 18-34, representing about 38% of gamers (source).

Mobile gamers make up approximately 2.7 billion of total gamers (source).

54.6% of the US population will be digital gamers in 2024 (source).

Three-quarters of mobile-only gamers are female (source).

Men make up two-thirds of console and desktop/laptop gaming audiences (source).

Engagement Metrics & Ad Formats

In 2022, the average PC gaming session lasted 1-2 hours (source).

Consumers can recall brands at rates of 25-30% when in in-gaming environments (source).

Static ads generated $3,072.7 million in 2021 and expected to reach $8,033.2 million by 2030 (source).

Static ads make up about 25% of in-game ad spend, dynamic ads approximately 45% of in-game ad spend, and rewarded video ads account for about 30% of in-game ad spend (source).

The ad formats most commonly experienced by gamers are (source):

  • Interstitial ads: 45%
  • Intrinsic in-game ads: 22.8%
  • Adjacent ads: 11.8%
  • Audio ads: 4.5%
  • No ads: 16%

The ad formats considered most distracting by gamers are (source):

  • Interstitial: 54%
  • Adjacent: 42.9%
  • Audio: 41.9%
  • Intrinsic: 23.9%

The ad formats that typically drive action by game players are (source):

  • Intrinsic: 34.1%
  • Interstitial: 27.2%
  • Adjacent: 24.1%
  • Audio: 15.3%

Platform Distribution

In-game ad revenue distribution across platforms breaks down as follows (source):

  • Mobile: 55%
  • Console: 25%
  • PC: 20%

Gaming device preferences by gamers breaks down as follows (source):

  • Mobile: 43.2% of players
  • Console: 31.1% of players
  • PC: 24.8% of players

Level Up Your Ad Game with Playwire

Ready to stop gambling with flashy in-game-only strategies and start building an advertising machine that actually delivers? We're the experts who understand that reaching gamers requires more than just dropping your ads into the latest battle royale.

We have premium gaming inventory, advanced targeting capabilities, and high-impact ad units that consistently outperform traditional display. We're talking custom creative at scale with our Flex Suite, measurable engagement metrics that will make your boss actually smile, and access to a global direct sales team that brings premium gaming publishers to your door.

And unlike those one-and-done in-game activations, we provide the real-time analytics and optimization capabilities you need to continuously improve performance. Because in our world, "set it and forget it" is about as effective as playing Elden Ring blindfolded.

Want to learn how we're helping advertisers reach gamers more effectively? Let's talk about how to level up your ad strategy without sacrificing performance metrics. No pickaxe required.

Want to find out more? Contact Playwire today.

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