- Spend Skews Heavily in Gaming: The top 2% of gaming creatives command 53% of spend—marketers must weigh rapid scaling against fatigue risks.
- Non-Gaming Diversifies Faster: Non-gaming apps’ top performers now capture only 43% of spend, with creative volume growing 18% YoY.
- Platform-Specific Narratives: Instant Gratification hooks in finance double DSP spend and boost Day-7 retention by 17%, while Pure Failure stories lift IPM by 65% on social.
- Motivation Matters: Ads focused on “Serious Relationship” in dating apps deliver 15% better retention than casual-dating pitches, suggesting deeper emotional appeals win loyalty.
- Celebrity & UGC Strategy: TV personalities and music artists outperform movie stars in mid-core gaming, and balancing Testimonials with Gameplay Reviews can optimize both installs and retention.
A tiny fraction of gaming ads are commanding over half of marketers’ budgets—what does this concentration mean for creative strategy?
AppsFlyer’s State of Creative Optimization 2025 Edition reveals a striking reality: in Q1 2025, just 2% of gaming creatives are pulling in 53% of all spend.
This level of concentration underscores the allure of “creative winners”- ads that consistently deliver strong install rates and short-term returns. Yet it also exposes marketers to fatigue risks, overinvestment in a narrow creative set, and blind spots in emerging audience segments.
Understanding both sides of this equation is crucial for senior marketing leaders aiming to sustain growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Gaming teams operate in a data-driven, performance-first environment where instant feedback loops reward rapid scale-up of proven ads.
When a particular video or hook demonstrates superior installs-per-mille (IPM) and initial retention, media budgets shift almost automatically to capitalize on momentum. As the report notes, this “high-intensity mindset” can drive 56% of spend to the top 2% of creatives in 2024, only modestly easing to 53% in 2025.
While this approach maximizes short-term ROI, it risks audience burnout: even the most compelling hook loses impact the more it’s seen.
The Diversification Countertrend
Interestingly, non-gaming apps have historically spread their budgets more evenly: their top 2% of creatives capture just 43% of spend, a 10-point gap that highlights a cautious, iterative mindset.
This strategy mitigates fatigue by continuously testing fresh variations, helping brands uncover niche, high-value segments.
Gaming marketers are beginning to follow suit: the slight drop in spend concentration reflects growing recognition that sustainable growth demands experimentation beyond the obvious winners.
For mid-tier gaming publishers—those spending $1-4M per quarter—the usual surge in creative volume hasn’t materialized (a 3% YoY drop), suggesting operational bottlenecks or a deliberate shift toward optimization over sheer output.
Platform-Specific Narrative Strategies
The report further reveals that the same creative storyline can perform very differently depending on the channel.
On ad-network platforms, “Pure Success” endings—displaying triumphant game wins - drive a 33% higher IPM. Yet on social and search, audiences respond better to “Pure Failure” arcs, which deliver a staggering 65% lift in IPM.
This flip challenges conventional wisdom: in feed-heavy environments, users crave suspense and surprise more than guaranteed victories. Consequently, top gaming marketers now tailor narratives to each medium, launching success-celebration ads on DSPs while reserving failure-to-success stories for social channels.
Balancing Reach with Retention
Relying exclusively on high-spend “winners” can yield rapid installs but also a leaky acquisition funnel.
AppsFlyer’s multi-metric framework—share of cost, IPM, and Day-7 retention- demonstrates that some low-spend creatives outperform in long-term loyalty, hinting at under-leveraged niches.
For example, a hyper-targeted ad with modest impressions may drive fewer installs but retain 20% more users by Day 7. Smart teams cross-reference these metrics in real time, reducing spend on high-cost, low-retention creatives and scaling those that deliver sustainable engagement. This balanced view prevents over-optimization for short-term spikes at the expense of lifetime value.
5. Actionable Recommendations for 2025
Drawing on AppsFlyer’s insights, senior marketers should:
- Allocate a “Discovery Fund” of at least 15–20% of the budget to mid-performing ads that show retention promise.
- Implement Channel-Specific Storytelling, using ad-network success arcs and social failure narratives in tandem.
- Leverage AI-Driven Hook Analysis to decode which emotional triggers—humor, mystery, challenge—underpin your small but high-retention creatives.
- Build Real-Time Dashboards that flag when the top 2% share of spend exceeds 55%, triggering a diversification sprint.
- Test Niche Variations weekly: even a 5% shift from overused winners to fresh concepts can preempt fatigue and surface the next generation of top performers.
From Concentration to Creative Resilience
While gaming’s top 2% of creatives wield disproportionate budget power, the slight decline in spend concentration signals a broader evolution: from single-hit dependence toward diversified creative ecosystems.
By adopting platform-specific narratives, balancing short- and long-term metrics, and systematically exploring mid-tier winners, marketers can transform the 2% phenomenon into a springboard for sustained growth, ensuring that both today’s champions and tomorrow’s breakout creatives receive the investment they deserve.
