Driving profitability for a hybrid-casual idle arcade game
Challenge
The title was unprofitable — D30 ROAS sat well below the sustainable scale threshold, with all spend concentrated on Meta and Google and no defined bidding strategy.
Solution
A full growth partnership: diversify channels, map the most profitable geo × platform combinations, match bidding to each channel, and score creatives on ROAS instead of CPI.
A hybrid-casual idle arcade game on Android was running a $30K–$40K monthly budget across Tier 1 and Tier 2 geos, on hybrid monetization (in-app advertising plus in-app purchases). The economics weren’t working — and the client had a hard goal: reach 100% ROAS by D60 without slowing install growth.
2.27×
D30 ROAS growth
109%
D60 ROAS — client target hit
~30%
Higher ROAS from ROAS-scored creatives

About the client

An idle arcade title stuck below the profitability line

A hybrid-casual idle arcade game on Android, running $30K–$40K per month acrossTier 1 and Tier 2 geos over six months on a hybrid monetization model. The title was unprofitable and D30 ROAS sat well below the level needed to scale, with a hard goal of 100% ROAS by D60. Install volume was maintained throughout while the title turned profitable.

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SOLVING ADVERTISING CHALLENGES TOGETHER

Spend was concentrated, and nothing was optimized for return

All budget sat on two channels — Meta and Google — with no bidding strategy behind either, and creatives were judged on cost per install, which said nothing about whether those installs ever paid back. We came in as a full growth partner, owning UA execution and feeding product signals back into the game.

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WHAT WE DID

Channel & geo diversification, and creative scored on ROAS

  • Expanded intoUnity and AppLovin alongside Meta and Google, with a dedicated bidding strategyper channel.
  • Mapped thewinning combinations: AppLovin → Tier-1 (US / UK / FR), Unity → US, Google →Korea — and found a Southeast Asian Tier-2 market as a hidden profitabilitypocket.
  • Used MMPattribution to measure each creative’s downstream ROAS, separating IAA ROASfrom IAP ROAS for the hybrid model.
  • Surfacedcreatives with slightly higher CPI but ~30% higher ROAS, then iterated theirfirst 5–10 second hook to lift install rate.

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RESULTS THAT EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

D30 ROAS trajectory over six months

Diversifying beyond Meta and Google, matching bidding to each channel, and judging creative on return turned an unprofitable title into a profitable, scalable one — D30 ROAS grew 2.27×, D60 ROAS hit 109% against a 100% target, and install volume held throughout.
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Ready to scale profitably?

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