AI fuels gaming ads as creative output rises 25-30%, ad impressions up 20% in 2025: Report

AppsFlyer, a marketing analytics platform, released its State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 report, detailing how artificial intelligence, increased creative output, and rising paid ad pressure reshaped mobile gaming marketing in 2025.

The report, based on anonymised data from thousands of gaming apps worldwide, showed that AI-enabled production coincided with a sharp increase in advertising across iOS and Android platforms.

Top gaming advertisers produced between 2,400 and 2,600 creative variations per quarter, up 25-30% year-on-year, intensifying competition for player attention. Paid install share rose 10% year-on-year, while ad impressions grew 20%, reflecting more ads targeting the same user base.

To manage the expanding volume of marketing activity, AI tools were widely adopted, with 46% of AI assistant queries focusing on reporting and performance analysis.

Speaking on the report findings, Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer, said, “AI has dramatically increased the speed and volume at which games and marketing assets reach the market. The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a surplus of it. As paid activity and creative supply expand faster than player attention, marketing success depends on how effectively teams can measure, interpret, and act on an increasing volume of fragmented signals.”

In India, the report found that gaming user acquisition (UA) spend increased 19% year-on-year, making the country one of the fastest-growing large gaming markets globally. Hypercasual game UA spend on Android rose 60% year-on-year, while casual game in-app purchase revenue fell by 35%.

AppsFlyer’s analysis covered installs, ad spend, creative production, monetisation, AI-assisted workflows, and media source usage across both iOS and Android during 2025.