Not every tool makes the cut: inclusion is selective 

The Turkish government maintains a curated,highly selective list of approved data, analytics, and reporting tools that qualify for the government reimbursement. For studios and apps that qualify,  choosing an approved Meta MMP means 50% of your attribution and analytics costs can be covered by the Turkish government.

Turkish studios already choose Tenjin

We’re proud that companies in Türkiye didn’t wait for Tenjin to join the incentive program; they chose us anyway.

Fusee, an Istanbul-based gaming studio with over 150 million downloads, switched to Tenjin before our inclusion into the Turkish government incentive program was official. They weren’t chasing reimbursements. They came because their previous MMP had hidden fees, slow dashboards, and delayed support. After switching to Tenjin, Fusee tripled their UA spend while maintaining strong ROI and grew monthly revenue by 2.5x.  They chose Tenjin because it was a better product. The government reimbursement program just makes it a better deal.

How the reform impacts mobile tech

Tuürkiye’s new unified incentive framework has broadened the scope significantly. Mobile game studios, app developers, SaaS companies, and software exporters all qualify. For mobile companies the support includes:

•  UA and marketing costs covered at 50% (up to ~$1.2M annually for digital products)
• Apple and Google platform commissions partially reimbursed
• Cloud and server costs supported up to ~$115K per year
• Data and analytics tools like Tenjin are covered at 50%
• Employment support is available for both local and overseas staff

For any company in the mobile ecosystem that’s been bootstrapping growth, this isfire-power.

Next steps for Turkish studios

If your company has a registered Turkish entity and you’re using, or considering, Tenjin, a portion of that cost may now be reimbursable. This applies to games, consumer apps, or any other mobile product. Note that pre-approval through the Exporters’ Association is required before expenses are incurred.

We’re already helping our Turkish partners navigate this. Reach out if you want to learn how to take advantage of the program with Tenjin.

Türkiye’s mobile ecosystem has always punched above its weight. With this level of government backing, we expect that to accelerate.

The post Tenjin Is Now Part of Türkiye’s Government Incentive Program appeared first on Tenjin.

Michal brings a refreshing approach to mobile game economics. Despite holding a degree in architecture, he’s spent his career mastering the math behind successful F2P games. His philosophy: nevermind the jargon. He wants to make knowledge accessible to creators, so they can build profitable games.

Michal walks through real examples and shares the exact frameworks he uses, even some tools. By the end of this article, you’ll understand the basics of:

• What is unit economics?
• What is F2P in games?
• How to distinguish between hobby game dev and a sustainable F2P business
• How to forecast revenue using LTV calculator
• How to calculate pricing and purchasing frequency your game requires 
• Product-market fit and troubleshooting

What Is Unit Economics?

In general, unit economics is a business framework that measures the profitability of acquiring and monetizing individual customers. From his decade of experience designing F2P games, Michal shares: 

 “Unit economics is a business model. If you do game dev as a business, or if you want your game to generate revenue, and you want to make a living…you have to treat it as a business.” 

So, what is unit economics specifically for free-to-play games? It’s also a framework, but instead of customers, it’s used to measure the profitability of user acquisition, or new players. In essence, it’s a model of how much each user or player generates versus how much it costs to acquire them. By looking at either side of the equation, hobbyist game developers can determine if their game can transform into a sustainable business.

F2P Meaning: What Does F2P Mean in Games? 

Before diving into equations and calculations, let’s make sure everyone understands the F2P meaning. F2P stands for “free-to-play,” a business model where games are free to download and play, with revenue generated through in-app purchases (IAPs) and/or in-app advertising (IAA). 
In 2025, free-to-play models dominated mobile gaming, accounting for over 70% of mobile game revenues by allowing players to enhance their gaming experience through optional IAP, instead of upfront costs.

Main Differences Between Hobby vs. Professional Frameworks

These days, the entry into creating apps is lower. As Michal points out: 

 “Anyone can make games…Game developers can be happy just by doing games and creating games. Sometimes they will just say, ‘Look, I’m turning it free now.’ That could be very easily defined as a hobby rather than a business.”

How to Forecast Revenue: The Power of Predictive Analytics

Predictive analysis is essential for modeling your F2P game’s potential. The process involves making informed assumptions about key metrics, then refining them with real data as your game launches and grows.

Essential Metrics for F2P Unit Economics

To understand how to forecast revenue for your free-to-play game, you need to track these predictive metrics:

• Retention Rates – Percentage of players returning after 1, 7, and 30 days
  
• ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User) – How much revenue each daily player generates
  
• CPI (Cost Per Install) – How much you spend to acquire each player
  
• Conversion Rate (CVR) – Percentage of players who become payers
  
• ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) – How much each paying player spends
  
• LTV (Lifetime Value) – Total revenue expected from a player over their lifetime

Building Your Unit Economics Model: A Step-by-Step Framework

Step 1: Start With Your Revenue Goal

Rather than building a game and hoping for revenue, start by defining your target. Michal recommends beginning with a clear revenue objective:

“Revenue was the first where I was like, look, I’m going to model this, but just tell me what do you want to get out of it? As a developer, you’ll say, ‘Well, I want to make a game that generates a million dollars.’ Okay. So that would be our goal.”

Step 2: Use an LTV Calculator for Predictive Metrics

Revenue forecasts require calculations that account for player behavior over time. A LTV calculator helps you model:

• How retention rates affect long-term revenue
• Break-even points for user acquisition
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) projections
• Profit margins based on different scenarios

You can also take a look at Tenjin’s predicted LTV (pLTV) metric that forecasts LTV with 98% accuracy. 

Example Modeling: 

“This is a very aggressive, very hopeful model,” Michal notes. “Everything that we assume might be 100% wrong and we’re just going to dial it down, optimize it and change it so that we arrive at a model that is functional.”

Retention Assumptions:

• D1 Retention: 45%
• D7 Retention: 20%
• D30 Retention: 7%

Monetization:

• ARPDAU: $2.00

Conversion Rate: 5%

LTV (45 days): $12.60

User Acquisition Spend:

• Marketing Budget: $500,000
• Predicted Revenue: $1,200,000
• Predicted Profit: $759,000

45-Day ROAS: 251%

Step 3: Calculate What Payers Must Spend

Once you know your target revenue and conversion rate, work backwards to determine pricing. For example, a $1.2M annual revenue target with 5% conversion:

• Total payers needed: 5,000 (from 100,000 acquired players)
• ARPPU needed: $251/year
• Weekly spending per payer: $39
• Monthly purchases required: ~17 purchases
• Average purchase price: $9.99

“Those 5,000 people are going to have to generate all that revenue,” Michal explains. “This is how we plug the numbers. And the model tells us now, ‘Go into a game and set it up so that these purchases occur exactly how this model says.'”

Product-Market Fit: When Models Meet Reality

Understanding product-market fit is crucial for unit economics success. Your model might be mathematically sound, but if it doesn’t align with user and player behavior or market realities, it won’t work. In this section, we’ll cover some of the most common issues in free-to-play games. 

Common Misalignments in F2P Games

1. Pricing Mismatch 

Michal analyzed a real shoot-’em-up game that offered ad removal for $3.99. The problem? Their model required:

• $12.60 LTV per player
• Only 5% conversion rate
• $9.99 average purchase price

“If everybody removes the ads at $3.99, we’re still down. We’re still not generating the money,” he explains. “That’s a clear indication where the model is informing you that you’re not going to be able to hit the goal that you want because your pricing is out of sync with the model.”

2. Misalignment Between Teams

Make sure that the UA team is acquiring the right audience in a cost-effective way. That includes going more granular and sifting through data, and performing creative-level testing for qualified traffic. 

On the other hand, the product team covers a different set of responsibilities. Their focus is creating user experience that monetizes according to the acquired players. This also includes matching prices according to their model requirements. The third major responsibility is creating content that hooks in players, driving up retention rates. 

“What your UA team does and what your product team does needs to be synchronous,” Michal emphasizes. “That’s what distinguishes success versus not success. UA team and product team working towards the same goal.”

Troubleshooting: When Your Model Doesn’t Work

1. If ARPDAU Is Too Low:

• Change monetization strategy – Add more purchase opportunities
• Adjust pricing – Increase IAP prices to match model requirements
• Improve conversion – Better offers, timing, and messaging

2. If CPI Is Too High:

• Refine UA strategy – Target more qualified audiences
• Improve creatives – Better ad creative performance
• Change the game – Adjust gameplay to appeal to cheaper-to-acquire audiences

3. If Retention Is Too Low:

• Fix unfit traffic – UA team may be acquiring wrong players
• Redesign core loops – Gameplay, content, or progression issues
• Adjust difficulty curves – Better onboarding and pacing

“If your retention is very low, that’s the trickiest part,” Michal warns. “Two ways to fix retention. You [could] have unfit traffic… or it is what it is…and [you] have to adjust the game.”

When Should You Build Your Unit Economics Model?

When it comes to timing, the right answer depends on your situation. Are you doing this professionally? Are you a hobby game developer who is curious about pivoting? 

If you are thinking about, or already pursuing game development professionally, you should always start with your model beforehand. Start with defining your revenue targets. Then, move on to different methods of monetization or revenue streams that can be integrated into core gameplay. This helps avoid expensive and time consuming redesigns later on. It also ensures that anyone on your team (and beyond) is aligned from day one. 

“If you’re in a position where you have to do this as a profession, then there’s no question—you begin with this,” Michal advises. “You don’t start a game and then shoehorn the game into this model.”

For those who are hobbyists, planning can be optional. If you’re a game designer for “fun” you can start with analyzing current or existing metrics. The next step is to identify gaps between your current and future/needed performance. You’re able to retrofit monetization and revenue carefully, but sometimes there could be significant changes involved. 

Key Principles for F2P Unit Economics Success

1. Start High, Adjust Down

Don’t underprice your IAPs out of fear nobody will pay.

“A lot of issues that I see are developers—especially in free-to-play and casual and mobile games and the early indies—they price so low because they just do not believe there’s somebody who’s going to spend high,” Michal observes. “You should start high because later on you’re not going to be able to increase the prices.”

2. Remove Assumptions With Data

“The power of forecasting is that you’re a god that can assume everything,” Michal says. “But if we have things already existing—so for example we have a game—we’re going to measure some things. Then we’re going to plug those things already existing or data that we already have.”

3. Know When You’re Running a Business vs. Hobby

 “This entire exercise tells you a lot about stuff that you need to know in order to turn the game into a business,” Michal concludes. “If you see this stuff and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to be doing this,’ then you’re probably in the wrong business.”

Pivoting From a Hobbyist Game Developer to a F2P Business

Understanding what unit economics is can transform your approach to free-to-play game development. Whether you’re a hobbyist, pro, or beginner just learning what F2P means in games, taking the time to model your unit economics is the difference between gambling and building better business. 

 “Make a lot of assumptions and remove those assumptions and you have a successful game.” 

The framework is simple. The execution requires diligence. It all comes down to the effort of treating something as fun, then turning it into a business.

So, start with your revenue goals and model your metrics. Before you know it, you’ll be on the path to a profitable F2P business. 

Want to dive deeper? Watch the video here.  

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post Unit Economics For F2P Games: A Profitable Free-To-Play Business Model appeared first on Tenjin.

It’s a reasonable approach, but getting useful feedback isn’t a guarantee. It doesn’t provide a holistic view. It’s also hard to scale.

The Problem: The Gap Between Your Tools

The issue isn’t that your UA data can’t be found. The bottleneck is accessing it in a way that preserves context. You should be able to connect spend, attribution, delivery, retention, and revenue into a single coherent explanation. 

Inside Tenjin, your UA performance already lives in one ecosystem. However, when you use AI the “screenshot-and-paste” way, the model only sees a slice of data you pasted. It forces you into a manual loop.

Even though Tenjin already provides the whole picture, your AI model provides a fragmented experience: follow-up questions are slow, manual, and often incomplete. 

This is where Tenjin’s MCP Server comes in.

The Solution: Tenjin’s MCP Server Bridges the Gap

What Is an MCP Server?

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. An MCP Server connects AI assistants like Claude Code or Cursor directly to your real data, so the AI isn’t just working off general knowledge or reading pixels from a screenshot. It’s querying actual campaign metrics, attribution data, and performance trends.

With Tenjin’s MCP Server, the assistant can query Tenjin’s mobile analytics data directly. These underlying data spans across all the relevant dimensions and time ranges. As a result, you can ask questions and get answers grounded within Tenjin’s holistic ecosystem.

In other words, the Tenjin MCP Server operates on the full data set that already lives within the Tenjin Dashboard.

How Tenjin’s MCP Server Works

Since Tenjin already aggregates your UA data (ad spend, attribution, revenue, cohort metrics) across channels into a single platform, our MCP Server doesn’t have to re-aggregate and shift data somewhere else because it already exists within Tenjin. That means Tenjin’s MCP Server acts as an extension of your data, so data becomes more accessible.

Built for Your Workflow

If you’re already using AI, this is the next logical step. Tenjin’s MCP Server fits directly into your workflow:

If you already let AI help you write code, this goes the extra step: it allows you to understand your growth.

Who Should Use This?

Tenjin’s MCP Server is built with developers in mind. However, each team member can benefit differently: 

• Developers handling their own UA can get fast answers without dashboard fatigue

• Product managers can get quick clarity on KPIs like retention and ARPU

• Developers can check campaign stats or in-game events directly from their IDE

• Analysts can iterate faster, using AI to explore ideas before building custom dashboards

• Teams without a dedicated data analyst can get the insights they’d otherwise miss

• Anyone relying on the screenshot-and-paste workflow and wishing AI could see and analyze across your entire data in Tenjin. 

Actionable Insights, Faster

User Acquisition doesn’t have to mean jumping between windows, screenshots, and stitching together data by hand. In Tenjin, your data is already unified; our MCP Server makes it more accessible. That means better responses, faster follow-ups, and answers based on the whole picture, not a slice of your stats.

We believe your data is meant to be connected, not locked in silos. That’s why we made this feature: to bring you a solution and deliver it to where you’re already working. 

How to Get Started

Tenjin’s MCP Server is available now. If you want to integrate it into your workflow or have questions about access or setup, reach out to us at [email protected]

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post Tenjin’s MCP Server: Query Your Data Directly appeared first on Tenjin.

One dashboard might show $50,000 in ad revenue, while another shows $48,000. Your ad mediation platform reports one figure, but your ad network and channel APIs report something completely different. When these discrepancies reach a certain range of 10-20%, how are you supposed to make a decision?…And, many follow-up questions arise: Which revenue insight is real? Where’s the revenue leak? 

In this guide, these questions and more are answered by in-house expert Anurag Mohan, Senior Customer Success Manager at Tenjin. He’ll walk us through our proven framework and share his knowledge on the following topics:

• Ad Attribution As The Foundation 
• Why Tenjin Includes More Than One Revenue Stream
• How To Calculate Revenue For Each IAA Source 
• The Key Differences In Calculation Methods And Why They Matter
• How To Use Your Revenue Overview Dashboard To Detect Invalid Ad Requests
• Best Practices For Mobile Invalid Ad Detection And Prevention
• How Dual-Source Tracking Improves Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)

Whether you’re analyzing revenue in your overview dashboard, troubleshooting API discrepancies, or defending against invalid ad requests, this framework will help you report with confidence and protect your bottom line. We’ll even share some real use cases to prove it. 

Ad Revenue Attribution Is The Foundation

IAA revenue calculation starts with a clear purpose: ad revenue attribution. By connecting earnings to campaigns, ad networks, and creatives, you identify which channels deliver positive ROAS. This visibility allows you to eliminate waste, allocate budget to profitable sources, and scale user acquisition strategically.

In-app purchases? Straightforward. An MMP like Tenjin tracks the install, and all revenue data flows straight to you through your app.

But the big focus in this article is IAA and that’s because it works differently than in-app purchases (IAP). Advertisers don’t know how much ad revenue their acquired users generate. Publishers see impressions and earnings, but they can’t connect them to specific campaigns or networks.

This is where ad revenue attribution delivers value. But first, let’s understand the legwork for our IAA calculation. 

Why Tenjin Includes More Than One Revenue Stream

Most mobile measurement partners (MMPs) rely on a single ad revenue source. This one source contains data that is directly pulled from ad mediation platforms like AppLovin Max, or Unity LevelPlay. While this gives you a single view of your ad revenue, combining multiple ad revenue sources allows for deeper validation, better fraud detection, and more precise campaign optimization.

As a hybrid-friendly MMP, Tenjin thinks differently. Anurag explains:  

“Tenjin is uniquely the only MMP that gives this flexibility and this complete coverage of all of your ad revenue sources. So we’re the only ones who, on our dashboard, give you the option to look at the ad mediation revenue and also the revenue that’s coming from these reporting APIs.” 

We calculate the revenue for IAA by considering two sources: 

• Ad mediation revenue is captured directly from your mediation SDK at the impression level, in real-time. 
  

• Ad revenue via Channels API is aggregated from ad networks’ reporting APIs and allocated to your user acquisition campaigns based on sessions. 

By using two distinct ad revenue sources, ad mediation and channels APIs, there are more robust possibilities and perspectives. This includes the chance to dig deeper into the data and discover opportunities for campaign optimization and catch different types of invalid ad requests before it hurts. 

How to Calculate Revenue for IAA: We Think Twice

Understanding how to calculate revenue from each of our two sources for IAA is the foundation for navigating your ad revenue and overview dashboard correctly. Let’s take a quick look at how they both work: 

How to Calculate Ad Revenue via Mediation

1. Impression-level capture 

The Tenjin SDK fetches impression-level ad revenue (ILRD) directly from your mediation SDK in real-time. Each ad impression íncludes data about the a) revenue value b) user ID c) timestamp and d) placement details

2. User-level attribution

Since Tenjin has already tracked the user through the user acquisition funnel, we assign each impression’s revenue directly to that specific user. 

3. Campaign aggregation 

All impression-level revenue is then aggregated up to the campaign level, channel level, and ultimately the app level. 

“We are able to pull this ad impression and the ad revenue directly from the mediation SDK, and then because we have seen that user on the user acquisition side, we just allocate or assign that revenue to that user and aggregate it down to the campaign level and then the app level.”

How to Calculate Ad Revenue via Channels API 

1. Data collection

Tenjin calls the APIs of all your monetization channels (like Google AdMob, Unity Ads, ironSource, etc.) and pulls aggregated revenue data at the app, country, and date level. It is based on the number of sessions. 

2. Proportional allocation 

This aggregated revenue is then allocated to your user acquisition campaigns based on the number of sessions generated by each channel. 

“This revenue is your daily payouts, right? So this is the actual ad revenue that you made on that particular date—the money that actually came into your app because of the ads that the users saw.” 

Why report more than one IAA ad revenue source? 

If you look at Tenjin’s overview dashboard, we display both ad revenue sources side-by-side in the UA Report. But, we don’t report two sources of IAA to be redundant, there’s a strategy behind all of this. Here are the four main reasons why we decided to calculate revenue this way:

Ad Revenue Attribution

It may reveal your value, but there is not one simple answer for how to go about ad mediation. While there’s no universal solution, selecting the right attribution method is a priority since it dictates your evaluation framework for measuring all ad campaigns, creatives, ad networks, and sources. Your chosen method directly impacts the accuracy of key metrics like ROAS and LTV. 

Additionally, cross-referencing multiple attribution models enhances data accuracy and provides deeper performance analysis. 

Cross referencing and our featured split view is exactly why we’ve created IAA revenue in this manner. This split view allows you to track LTV and other campaign metrics by allocating value to individual sessions. Because our IAA has more than one ad revenue source, it means that we are also able to provide two types of LTV for ad revenue. 

Ad Mediation LTV 

Your mediation provider sends Tenjin the bid amount for each ad impression. Tenjin then totals this revenue per user and breaks it down by acquisition channel, campaign, and country. This is directly related to Ad Mediation Revenue. 

Ad Revenue via Channnels LTV

This approach estimates ad revenue using session data from the Tenjin SDK. Each session from the same user within the same channel, campaign, and country is assigned equal monetary value. This method is directly related to Ad Revenue via Channels API.  

Curious to learn how we calculate aggregate-based revenue LTV? Read our case studies with Kooapps and Hyperbeard to find out. 

In our dashboard, you are able to compare the two different sources of ad revenue directly to IAP LTV, or in any combination you desire. 

Detecting Invalid Ad Requests

Another reason for using two types of streams in our IAA to account for any irregularities between the two. Large discrepancies may point to invalid ad requests. If there are large differences in Ad Mediation Revenue and Ad Revenue via Channels API, then this is often a signal of fraud detection. As Anurag warns:

 “There is a lot of fraud sometimes happening through user acquisition channels… If there’s an inflated number of ad impressions that a fraudulent user generated, your Ad Mediation Revenue is going to look inflated. But the Ad Revenue via Channels API… is not going to be inflated because that’s the actual revenue that you’ve made from these users.”

When fraudulent users enter your app through compromised user acquisition channels, they often generate artificially inflated ad impressions: 

• Ad Mediation Revenue (from SDK) will show inflated numbers because it’s capturing every impression, including fake ones
  

• Ad Revenue via Channels API (actual payouts) will show accurate, lower numbers because ad networks only pay for legitimate impressions

Invalid Ad Request Signals:

• Discrepancies exceeding 15-20% between the two sources

• Specific campaigns showing unusual spikes in Ad Mediation Revenue

• Revenue patterns that don’t align with user behavior metrics 

Differences in Calculation Logic

It’s important to understand that some discrepancy between the two measurements is normal and expected. “Both are accurate. They just use different logics for calculation,” Anurag clarifies. “So it’s not necessarily that one is more accurate than the other.” Rather, he reinforces that: 

“The idea is to give you access and insight into all the sources of ad revenue that exist.”

It’s normal to see some differences because there are two ways of calculation: session and impression-based. Another reason for discrepancies can be as simple as the timezone difference between mediation providers and the ad networks. Yet, another difference could be due to delayed API reporting or currency conversion timings. These all seem quite reasonable reasons for why there could be a difference within your data. 

The issue is when there are more abnormalities. For example, when these discrepancies between the data are 15-20% or above, then there should be an investigation into their validity. However, it might not always come down to fraud detection. Integration issues with the mediation SDK could be another reason why there are major differences between reported revenue types. Besides integration issues, missing ad network connections in API channels should also be checked. Moreover, there could also be issues with how sessions are recorded. 

Holistic Visibility for Revenue 

Sometimes ad networks may exist outside your ad mediation stack. The Channels API ensures you’re capturing all revenue resources for a more complete picture.

“A lot of times there might be ad networks that you’re using separately outside of the mediation provider that you have,” explains Anurag. “Like, your stack might not have that ad network in the mediation side. So it’s always another source that you have that you can use to look at where your ad revenue is coming from.”

Practical Takeaways

Accurate ad revenue calculation isn’t just about reconciling numbers. It’s also about protecting your profitability and making smarter growth decisions. 

By leveraging dual-source revenue tracking through both ad mediation and channels API, you gain the complete visibility needed to optimize ROAS, detect fraud before it drains your budget, and capture revenue from every monetization channel in your stack. 

When discrepancies arise, you now have a framework to investigate systematically rather than guess. Whether you’re scaling user acquisition, defending against invalid ad requests, or simply trying to understand where your revenue really comes from, this two-source approach gives you the confidence to act on your data.

• Dual-source revenue tracking gives you complete revenue visibility and a robust fraud-detection framework.

• Differences between the two sources are normal but actionable. When large discrepancies appear, it can indicate fraud, integration issues, or gaps in network connections.

• Ad Mediation Revenue is essential for real-time ROAS optimization due to its impression-level data and instant network callbacks.

• Ad Revenue via Channels API adds breadth by incorporating channels outside your mediation stack, improving revenue completeness and serving as a benchmarking metric.

Want to see this framework in action? Watch our team explain why our customers are huge fans of how we calculate revenue for in-app purchases: 

The post How to Calculate Revenue for In-app Advertising: Our Proven Framework appeared first on Tenjin.

In this episode of Tenjijn ROI 101 Joseph Kim, the founder of GameMakers and veteran gaming executive with over 20 years of experience building and scaling mobile games unpacks his insights on mobile gaming in India for 2026. 

In this article, we’ll distill their insights with a particular focus on how BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) solved the mobile app localization challenge, after Chinese apps were banned in India and how you can apply these learnings to your own product development. 

Understanding Mobile Gaming in India: The Opportunity

Joseph Kim identifies India as “the biggest opportunity in 2026,” driven by two critical factors:

“From a market perspective, it is the fastest growing market in the world from my perspective… But also, I think that there seems to be an opportunity from a demand perspective.”

“Just in terms of the digital gaming revenue, we’re seeing that there’s been significant growth at a 31% CAGR since 2023 over the last couple of years, and it’s expected to grow to $4.4 billion by 2030.” 

Another important statistic he brings up is the increasing user spend by 9X over the last five years and the growth of the mobile gaming market in India. 

As Joseph notes:

“What we are seeing is massive and dramatic growth in terms of the local Indian economy as well as the mobile apps landscape.”

A huge driver behind this transformation is the local consumption culture. Unlike Western markets, India’s information and entertainment consumption is fundamentally mobile-first. This creates unique opportunities for mobile app development in India.

The mobile-first infrastructure implies that: 

• Most users skilled the PC era 
• All entertainment and information flows through smartphones
• User behaviors are different compared to western markets
• There are unique opportunities for geo-specific and mobile app localization strategies 

Dual Opportunity for Gaming Studios in India

It can get quite complex. Roman asks:

“Do you create a product specifically for India? Do you have a global product that you’re locating for India? Are you creating user acquisition and retention programs that are specific for India?”

To answer, top mobile games in India have evolved from two distinct strategies: global to local app development or putting Indian app makers in India first. Joseph and his team at GameMakers use a dual approach:

“We have a studio that is based out of India building for the global market. But then we also have started to explore the local Indian gaming market as well.” 

Global to Local App Development

This model builds products with local Indian talent for global markets, then adjusts and adapts for local market consumption. Some of its benefits are leveraging cost-effective talent, a deep cultural understanding for localization, and the ability to test locally before global expansion. 

India-first: App Makers in India

This model focuses on developing apps and games specifically for the Indian market, their unique characteristics, preferences, and consumption behaviors. 

BGMI: The Ultimate Case Study in Mobile App Localization 

When Chinese apps were banned in India in 2020, PUBG Mobile, a publisher with over 33M daily active users was removed from app stores. 

The Problem: 

There has been a ban on all Chinese apps in India since 2020. Joseph helps provide more context: 

“In the middle of 2020, there was a fight or a conflict at the India-China border. And so the Indian government at the time banned a number of Chinese apps. One of the prominent apps that were banned at the time was TikTok… and also this game called PUBG Mobile.”

The Chinese app ban had an enormous impact since over 33M people were playing this game per day. That’s the entire metropolitan area of Delhi playing the same game, every single day. 

The Solution: Creating BGMI

To fill this huge demand gap, Krafton partnered with an Indian company to relaunch as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and implemented smart mobile app localization strategies. 

Key Localization Elements

1. Local Partnership Structure

• Partnered with Indian company for operations
• Maintained compliance with government regulations
• Built trust through local ownership

2. Cultural Customization

Joseph details: 

“They changed a bunch of features. They changed the blood color from red to green. They had a bunch of parental consent clauses, so they were trying to make sure that… underage gamers weren’t playing this game and they needed parental consent.”

3. Regulatory Compliance

• Adapted content for cultural sensitivities
• Implemented age-verification systems
• Created India-specific gameplay modifications

BGMI’s Success Story

The results of this mobile app localization strategy were remarkable according to Joseph:

“The game came back and it got 34 million downloads in the first month,” Joseph reveals. “So you would think that the game would have gotten all of its players back. PUBG Mobile had 33 million DAU, 34 million downloads. But actually, it ended up peaking at 18 million.”

18M downloads still packs quite a punch. This 50% recovery rate provides critical insights:

• Not all users returned despite massive demand
• Market gaps emerged for competing titles and genres
• Localization alone doesn’t guarantee full market recapture

Genre Gaps Beyond Battle Royale

While game genres can affect your monetization, there’s no question that Battle Royale games like BGMI dominate. Although it’s one of the top mobile games in India, significant opportunities exist in other underserved genres. Joseph focuses on the gap:

 “Outside of BGMI and Free Fire and maybe Call of Duty Mobile, there aren’t a lot of other titles that have meaningfully penetrated the top grossing charts. And so I do think that there is an opportunity for publishers to come in and offer competing products.”

“If you look at the top grossing charts, it tends to be real money gaming and then battle royale. There’s very little outside of that.” 

And if we consider that RMG was banned in late 2025, there are even more opportunities for growth, especially for mobile gaming genres: 

• Mid-core strategy games
• RPGs with local themes
• Casual puzzle games with Indian cultural elements
• Social casino games
• Sports games beyond cricket

Global to Local: How to Enter Mobile Gaming in India

1. Start Small and Test Locally

Joseph’s primary advice is: 

“We’re not going in with some sort of massive bet. We are going in with small, what I would call experiments or tests… We want to see if there’s actually a demand for our products in the local market.”

This translates into soft launches in select test cities, measuring engagement metrics that matter for the demographic. Taking these steps help validate product-market fit before scaling. 

2. Hire Local Product Managers

Understanding cultural nuances is impossible without local expertise.

“Have somebody local on the ground who really understands the local market. You can’t do this just by looking at reports and data. You need to have someone who is local, who is from India, who understands the culture and the gaming preferences.”

Cultural insights are qualitative elements that statistical data simply can’t capture the same way as a good conversation, experience and real understanding. Certain aspects like understanding local payment preferences or special knowledge about regulations are pivotal to success, while maintaining local contacts and user communities will be able to provide opinions and support. 

3. Focus on Mobile App Localization Beyond Translation

True mobile app localization goes far deeper than language translation.

“Are you creating user acquisition and retention programs that are specific for India? So it’s a multilayered thing. It’s not just, okay, we’re going to translate our game.”

4. Understand the Regulatory Environment

The ban on Chinese apps in India demonstrated the importance of regulatory compliance.

Joseph advises: 

“You have to partner with local companies. You have to understand the regulatory environment… This is not a market where you can just kind of launch a product and hope for the best.”

Some key considerations include age verification systems, content guidelines, data localization requirements, data localization, partnership structures with local companies, and tax and revenue regulations.

5. Optimize for Lower-End Devices

When it comes to mobile-first economies, mobile app development in India must account for device diversity.

“The phones that are used in India tend to be on the lower end relative to other markets like the U.S. or developed Western European markets.”

Technical optimizations such as smaller app sizes, lower memory requirements, and performance on older Android versions should be considered. In addition to elements like battery efficiency and especially data usage optimization. 

6. Adapt Monetization Strategies

With ARPPU at $27 (versus $3 in 2020), monetization strategies must evolve.

“The market is willing to spend. They’re willing to spend and engage with these products. The question is, are they willing to spend on your product?”

Let’s start with purchasing power. Although there’s growing middle class in India, consumers expect lower price points than western markets. They also expect alternative payment methods like Paytm or UPI and IAP offerings that match their gameplay. For example, BGMI has introduced a battle pass system. 

The Future of Mobile Gaming in India

The most successful gaming studios in India share common characteristics. Not only do they possess a deep understanding of mobile-first user behavior, they recognize how India’s consumption patterns are different. They’ve mastered the ability to build quality products cost-effectively, leveraging local talent without compromising on production value. 

Their cultural insights extend in both directions: they understand the nuances of the Indian market while also grasping what resonates globally, making them uniquely positioned for the dual opportunity model.  

However their success stems from a remarkable agility in responding to market changes, whether that’s adapting to regulatory shifts like the Chinese app ban or pivoting to capture emerging genre opportunities.

They are adaptable as Joseph observes: 

“The studios that I’ve talked to that are based out of India that are building for the global market, like they’re smart, they’re very focused on making great products, they have interesting ideas…I think you’re going to see more developers. You’re going to see more growth in this space. I don’t think it’s going to slow down.”

Mobile App Localization Strategies Are A Must

India’s mobile gaming market offers unprecedented opportunities for app makers in India and global developers willing to invest in proper mobile app localization. The BGMI case study shows that after Chinese apps were banned in India, understanding local culture, regulatory environments, and considering local user preferences play a big role for success.

As Joseph summaries: 

“This is the biggest opportunity in 2026… The market is willing to spend. They’re willing to spend and engage with these products.”

The key is approaching the market with respect, local expertise, and a commitment to true localization. It’s not as simple as translation. For true growth it’s important to start small, test locally, and hire product managers who have a deep understanding of the culture. Simultaneously, there’s even bigger opportunities if game studios look for genre gaps beyond the dominant Battle Royale category.

For gaming studios in India and international developers alike, the time to act is now. The market is growing, users are spending, and the right global to local strategy can unlock massive growth in the world’s fastest-growing mobile gaming market.

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post How to Win Mobile Gaming in India: Mobile App Localization Strategies appeared first on Tenjin.

There’s a quiet revolution happening in mobile game studios, and it’s starting in China. Teams there are scaling user acquisition (UA) 10x without additional headcount by leveraging open-source AI tools. These quick to scale teams are testing hundreds of ad creatives weekly, not monthly, and using these free tools to grow.  

But, there are major differences across the global economy. Chinese developers have been refining open-source AI workflows, while Western studios continue debating over which subscription service to buy.

Jakub from Two & a Half Gamers predicts that, “by the end of 2026, there will be around 50% of all UA creatives either having AI hooks or completely done by AI.” He brings over a decade of mobile gaming experience, specializing in system design, monetization, and scaling user acquisition for studios worldwide. For the last three years, he’s worked as an independent consultant, advising everyone from indie studios to major publishers on creative workflow optimization.

“I work with multiple gaming studios around the world, or even non-gaming people these days, because based on the whole Duolingo—you know, apps pretty much taking over the App Store—they’re looking for our know-how.”

What sets Jakub and his team apart? He’s implementing ComfyUI workflows daily for real clients with real budgets. And the studios investing in ComfyUI workflows and similar creative automation tools are building competitive moats that subscription-based tools can’t replicate.

Jakub sits down with Roman, the Marketing Director of Tenjin and shares a guide targeted at open-source AI tools to grow your UA and creative output. Made for UA managers drowning in requests or testing backlogs, studio founders wanting to scale without linear cost increases, creative directors tired of repetitive work or burnout, and small indie and solo developers who want professional-grade creatives without the expense.

This episode of Tenjin ROI 101 is for anyone who wants practical tools to grow their mobile app.

What You’ll Learn 

1. Why Open-Source Beats Black-Box Tools 
2. What You Need To Get Started 
3. Creative Automation Tools Comparison: ComfyUI Vs Alternatives
4. How Professionals Use Image-To-Video ComfyUI Pipelines
5. How Creative Automation Tools Benefit Teams
6. Velocity and Volume Determines Mobile Game Success
7. From Creative Generation to Performance Metrics

Why Open-Source AI Workflow Beats Black-Box Tools

Before diving into our ComfyUI workflow tutorial and technical specifications, you’ll need to understand the fundamental difference between Western and Chinese approaches to AI tools. Western AI tools are like a subscription service, charging monthly. On the other hand, many Chinese-based open-source AI tools cost nothing after initial setup.

Western “Black-Box” Approach

Examples include OpenAI, Anthropic, and Midjourney.

• Easy to start with minimal learning curve
• Closed source, subscription-dependent
• “Prompt in, result out” with minimal control

“The Western approach of blackbox AI tools, which are, again, completely closed—you can only do positive prompts, negative prompts, then some very small customization to it.”

According to Jakub, these top AI tools for generating UGC video content work great, until you require: 

• Consistent character designs across hundreds of ad variations
• Precise control over compositions for specific hooks
• Integration with existing creative pipelines
• Budget predictability (no per-generation costs)

If you are scaling many ad creatives at a global scale, Jakub argues that many of these black-box tools end up becoming bottlenecks. That’s why he’s a fan of open-source AI solutions, especially when it comes to creative iterations.

The Chinese Open-Source AI Ecosystem

China’s AI strategy deliberately mirrors successful gaming modding communities:

“China is currently flooding the market with all these open-source models because it’s their kind of political policy of, ‘We’ll get these models in the people’s hands. Therefore, we control the ecosystem.'”

This has resulted in a thriving culture and ecosystem where: 

• Various AI models are constantly improved through community contribution
• Unlimited customization (if you invest the effort) 
• No subscription costs, only for hardware
• Workflows become proprietary advantages

Jakub’s analogy to the game Skyrim is perfect:

“Imagine it basically like Skyrim. Skyrim is played to this day and is one of the best RPGs in the world. Why? Because it has a giant modding community that revives it, patches it, improves it, so on and so forth. So that’s their approach, basically.”

Why This Matters for Mobile Game UA

ComfyUI workflows bring a modding mindset to creative production. It lets teams remix within a community and use open-source AI models to rapidly generate whatever assets they need across multiple formats.

“Open-source AI generation is not confined only to images and video. You can generate whatever you want, basically, in any modality, as long as you have the open-source model for it… You can do audio, 3D assets, 2D assets, 2D sprites—like, you can generate whatever you want.”

Ultimately, this is what your creative workflow grows into: a compounding tool for growth that gets more capable over time, a layer of proprietary IP that competitors can’t easily replicate, and an appreciating asset, rather than a recurring expense. These are some of the main reasons why forward-thinking mobile studios are investing now.

Tools to Grow: ComfyUI Hardware & Software Requirements

According to Jakub, there’s practical hardware and a shopping list for setting up automated creative production with ComfyUI workflows (plus models from places like CivitAI). 

“You need a good computer. So we need at least something like, I would say, 8 to 10GB of VRAM, NVIDIA GPU. This stuff won’t work on AMD. Maybe in some experimental form it will, but you need a CUDA core GPU. That’s the first step. Once you have this, you need ComfyUI. Again, you can get it on the internet, very easily.”

Hardware Investment

Unlike cloud services,  open-source AI workflow tools run locally. This requires upfront investment but eliminates ongoing costs.

Minimum Specs:

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB VRAM) 
• RAM: 16GB system memory
• Storage: 512GB SSD (for models and workflows)

Recommended Specs:

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070 or 4080 (16GB+ VRAM)
• RAM: 32GB system memory
• Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD

ROI Calculation:

• Midjourney subscription: $60/month = $720/year
• Runway video generation: $95/month = $1,140/year
• Total avoided cost: $1,860/year
• Hardware payback: 6-16 months

That puts hardware payback at roughly 6–16 months, depending on which build you choose. After year one, each new generation is effectively free because you’re no longer paying per month, per seat, or per output.

Software Stack (All Free)

• ComfyUI – Core creative workflow software framework
• Stable Diffusion models – SDXL, SD 1.5, specialized models
• LoRA models – Character consistency, style control
• ControlNet – Compositional precision
• AnimateDiff/Video extensions – Image to video ComfyUI capabilities
• Face restoration models – Professional quality finishing

Download sources

• CivitAI (models and workflows)
• Hugging Face (base models)
• GitHub (ComfyUI and extensions)

Take Your Time To Learn

“It’s effort-based. You need to put in some effort, and then you have it. I can do it. I’m not a programmer. I’m a game designer. I can do Excel sheets like maths and economy, but I can’t code, and I was able to do all these things. So it’s not that hard.”

Jakub’s key insight here is that it isn’t necessarily technical skill. It’s more about having dedication to the process and having the motivation to create your own assets and unique ad creatives.

Creative Automation Tools Comparison: ComfyUI vs Alternatives

The Verdict for Mobile Game UA

A ComfyUI workflow is the clear winter for teams producing 50 or more creative variations on a weekly basis. The upfront investment in setting up pays off in the long run, with unlimited generation capacity and maintaining granular control, a must for branding. 

“What I’m saying is that the teams of the future will be building their own tools and own data models and old datasets that they will be then pretty much using through these open-source AI models.”

ComfyUI Tutorial: Image-to-Video Workflow

This is where ComfyUI workflows really start to shine for scaling UA creatives. Plus, there’s a core insight that pros figure out pretty quickly:

“The key to video generation, anything, is image generation. That’s the number one rule that you learn with these things.”

Why Text-To-Video Doesn’t Scale

The workflow seems intuitive. Type a prompt and get an immediate output… and for one-offs this might work. But, there’s a major issue if you’re trying to scale or present to a client similar options. 

“Lots of times, people just go text-to-video. Like, you go to an image generator, and you do something and just input some text, and it just generates something, which is great, but you don’t have control. That’s the big problem. You don’t have control of how it looks, how the characters look, how the environment—how anything looks.”

When you’re testing dozens (or hundreds, thousands) of UA creatives a month, this lack of control kills you. You can’t isolate what’s working in your A/B tests. And you definitely can’t iterate fast enough to stay competitive.

An Image-First Professional Pipeline

Phase 1: Base Image Generation

• Precise prompt engineering
• ControlNet for compositional control
• Initial generation batch (20-50 variants)

Phase 2: Refinement

• Face restoration (Detailers)
• Hand correction (critical for UGC realism)
• Background enhancement
• Quality upscaling

Phase 3: Animation

• Image-to-video ComfyUI conversion
• Character consistency maintained
• Motion parameters fine-tuned
• Duration and pacing control

Phase 4: Post-Processing

• Final color grading
• Text/UI overlays
• Export optimization

This is where ComfyUI workflows start to deliver real leverage for creative and UA teams. There’s a principle that pros internalize fast: the key to video generation is image generation. 

“You can generate whatever you want, basically, in any modality, as long as you have the open-source model for it. The ComfyUI thing that I will be showing is just like the, let’s say, the frame for it. But you can do it from audio, 3D assets, 2D assets, 2D sprites—like, you can generate whatever you want.”

This positions ComfyUI not only as a creative tool, but as creative workflow software infrastructure.

You can control how characters look, how environments render, how brand elements appear frame-to-frame. For teams doing A/B testing and iterating on hundreds of assets a month, this is necessary. 

Consistency is key for building brands. If you can’t maintain consistency, you can’t isolate certain variables, and you can’t move fast enough to stay competitive.

How Creative Automation Tools Benefit Teams

While the output advantages are obvious, the impact on creative teams might be more significant. 

Avoid Creative Fatigue and Burnouts 

Producing high-volume creatives through traditional methods has an effect on teams. Minute variations and repetitive changes can ruin team spirit and motivation, not to mention creative fatigue or burnout. 

That’s because when you’re testing many variations, it usually takes more time, more work to analyze, and this can cause overtime hours. These aspects affect the quality of creative output and cause unhealthy team pressure. And, these effects can be avoided with current tools and the right pipeline. 

Creative automation can help assuage these issues by eliminating repetitive work cycles, freeing up more time for the creators to focus on strategy and implementation. It also pushes high-volume production and testing to a technical, rather than human-level. 

“The teams of the future will be building their own tools and own data models and old datasets that they will be then pretty much using through these open-source AI models.”

According to Jakub, expect more UA teams becoming tool-builders rather than pixel-focused. Teams will evolve to make more engaging, creating more valuable and sustainable content. 

New Pipelines Build A Competitive Moat

The real competitive advantage comes from building custom creative pipelines that competitors cannot buy. When studios invest the time to train LoRAs on their specific character designs, develop brand-matched style models, and curate libraries of their highest-performing creative elements, something fundamental shifts. 

An open-source AI workflow stops being just another tool in the stack and becomes actual intellectual property. 

We’re talking about proprietary workflows that achieve brand-specific quality levels that generic tools can’t replicate, institutional knowledge baked directly into your creative infrastructure, and appreciating assets that get better with every generation. 

Unlike subscription services that vanish the moment you stop paying, these custom pipelines compound in value over time. They learn your studio’s aesthetic preferences, optimize for your specific UA metrics, and become increasingly difficult for competitors to reverse-engineer. This is why the smartest mobile gaming team are now tooling up for the long-run. 

Velocity and Volume Determines Mobile Game Success

The clearest evidence of this change is the story of King Shot. Launched in February 2025, the game rapidly scaled to generate approximately $1.5-2 million daily, a trajectory that would have been nearly impossible just two years ago. As Jakub explains:

“King Shot is the biggest game of this year. It was launched somewhere like February, and currently it’s doing something like one and a half, nearly two million a day.”

What makes King Shot’s success particularly instructive isn’t just revenue. The game’s UA strategy relies on a sophisticated bait-and-switch approach that presents approachable, puzzle-style gameplay in advertising (inspired by the Steam game Thronefall), then seamlessly transitions players into a deeper 4X strategy experience once they’ve installed. 

This isn’t deceptive advertising in the traditional sense; rather, it’s a carefully engineered funnel that dramatically widens top-of-funnel acquisition while maintaining strong retention metrics.

“It’s all based on this kind of bait-and-switch fake ads, fake onboarding, real gameplay, 4X-style thing… They widen the funnel so much because it’s so approachable.”

The brilliance is in execution: users see engaging puzzle mechanics in ads, experience those same mechanics in the initial onboarding, and gradually discover the game’s more complex 4X systems as they progress. The “fake ads” and “real gameplay” align closely enough that user trust remains intact, while the accessible entry point captures audiences who might otherwise never consider a traditional 4X strategy game.

But here’s the critical insight that explains why ComfyUI workflows and creative automation tools have become essential: this strategy only works at massive creative volume. 

King Shot isn’t running five or ten ad creatives. They’re testing hundreds of variations simultaneously, each targeting slightly different audience segments, creative hooks, and messaging angles. They’re iterating on winning concepts daily, not weekly or monthly.

This volume-dependent approach is now proliferating across multiple mobile gaming genres. And, social casino games are adopting similar strategies…even puzzle games are using it. Traditional RPG and strategy titles are also exploring how creative-first UA can widen their acquisition funnels without compromising their core gameplay identity.

The implication is automated creative production isn’t a nice-to-have optimization anymore; it’s become table stakes for competitive UA in 2026. Studios that can generate, test, and iterate on hundreds of creative variations weekly are building insurmountable advantages over those still relying on traditional production timelines. When your competitor can test 50 new creative concepts in the time it takes you to produce five, they’re not just moving faster—they’re learning exponentially more about what resonates with audiences, which hooks drive performance, and how to optimize every stage of the creative funnel.

From Creative Generation to Performance Metrics

Jakub’s work with open-source AI tools like ComfyUI represents far more than a technical roadmap for the structural transformation of mobile gaming creative teams. Generating hundreds of creative variations means nothing without accurate attribution to measure performance. 

Leading studios are integrating their AI pipelines directly with mobile measurement platforms like Tenjin to measure:

• Creative-level ROAS using creative ID tagging via file naming conventions and granular attribution
• Install-to-click conversion rates segmented by creative-level data 
• Using cohort analytics to refine creative performance in high-volume platforms like Meta
• LTV trajectories for AI-generated vs. traditional creatives
  
  These measurements demonstrate which specific creative model combinations and strategy deliver returns. 

Using these tools to grow also requires accurate attribution. The investment you make in open-source AI workflow infrastructure only brings value when paired with mobile measurement partners that can provide a loop between creative production and performance outcomes. 

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post ComfyUI Workflow: Free AI Tools to Grow Your Mobile Game in 2026 appeared first on Tenjin.

In this episode of Tenjin ROI 101, Marketing Director Roman interviews Jakub from Two & a Half Gamers to discuss seismic shifts in mobile game advertising. Jakub brings a wealth of experience in user acquisition and making ad creatives.

Together, they look at big trends for 2026: how AI-generated content will come to dominate creative workflows for mobile game marketers. 

This article breaks it down into 10 reasons why you should adopt AI workflows into your creative routine. We’ll also see why automated workflows are an essential tool for staying competitive in mobile game user acquisition (UA). 

1. UA Matters More Than Product

UA has evolved dramatically over the last years, especially for mobile games. Understanding the development and importance of an ad creative, moreover being able to measure its performance across channels is now mission critical for mobile marketers. Jakub emphasizes that:

UA is more important than product this year and next year even more, and so on and so forth. It was not like this a few years before, but now it is.

Just look at King Shot…the biggest game of this year…It’s all based on this kind of bait-and-switch fake ads, fake onboarding, real gameplay, 4X-style thing…Basically, they widen the funnel [and] users get to see these fake ads…When they go into the game, they see the gameplay which is the same as the one in the ads, which means like the fake ads, fake onboarding kinda equalizes itself. Nothing’s fake anymore and it’s exactly the same thing you’ve seen in the ads. But slowly, the game unfolds you into 4X or some other high-LTV engine…It’s proliferating also to other genres, like Social Casino.

Besides the quality of ad creatives, iteration and speed are main determinants of who wins in app stores. As budgets get tighter and competition intensifies, producing high-performing mobile ad creatives at larger volumes is becoming the new survival mode. AI-powered ad creatives have accelerated this shift, pushing testing speed to another competitive race. 

The UA landscape requires quality and velocity. This is something that AI creative workflows are able to deliver, without the burnout or creative fatigue. 

2. More Than 50% of Creatives Will Be AI-Generated in 2026 

The industry can already feel this trend. According to Jakub’s observations across multiple game clients, AI UGC and AI-generated images are rapidly becoming standard components of every creative testing matrix. He predicts that: 

…by the end of 2026, there will be around 50% of all UA creatives either having AI hooks or completely done by AI.

This prediction points to a new tipping point, where AI-assisted production will overtake traditional creative methods. And, the transition is accelerating faster than most marketers may realize. What seemed like a distant future away is already reshaping tomorrow’s feed and strategies worldwide. 

“AI creatives are actually the most impactful, let’s say, surface-level view of AI that we see in the market,” states Jakub. 

Make the assumption that AI will drive at least 50% of your creative workflow and roadmap within the next 18 months. 

3. If You’re Not Already Using AI, You’re Already Behind

Jakub refocuses the conversation about AI workflows. It’s not about a takeover, rather about getting to know the tools that are available now: 

This [isn’t] one of those discussions that like, ‘AI will replace your job, AI will be this, AI will be that,’ and so on and so forth. This will be like, what can you do now, completely free, and it’s extremely impactful.

If you’re not experimenting with the best AI UGC video editors, or image-to-video tools and you’re doing marketing for mobile games, you’re already playing catch-up. 

The competition is based on volume, speed, and testing, so winning ad creatives get pushed to the frontline. Start experimenting now.

4. Image-to-Video Is Better Than Text-To-Video

Not all AI workflows are created equal. Jakub identifies image-to-video as the most practical and effective approach for producing the most valuable mobile ad creative right now. Starting with AI-generated images and animating them with UGC video ads, AI tools offer unprecedented control. 

In his Tenjin 101 tutorial, Jakub shares his seeding tips:

“Lots of times, people just go text-to-video. Like, you go to an image generator, and you do something and just input some text, and it just generates something, which is great, but you don’t have control. 

That’s the big problem. You don’t have control of how it looks, how the characters look, how the environment—how anything looks. 

So again, the key to video generation, anything, is image generation. That’s the number one rule that you learn with these things.”

An image-to-video workflow delivers the optimal balance of quality, control, and speed. Rather than generating video from scratch, starting with static images provides better art direction and more predictable results, which are essential for creative advertisements that need to perform at scale.

Try to focus your initial AI experiments on image-to-video workflows for the fastest path to production-ready results.

5. Professional-level Quality Is About Patience

It’s rare that the first try is perfect and the same goes for AI ad creatives. Reality is more nuanced, especially for an ad creative that converts. 

Quality requires effort, experimentation, re-generation, and refinement, but it pays dividends in scalability. Even with generative AI features for creators, the path from prompt to a final polished creative, ready for testing usually involves days of re-creation. 

“A professional from an AI agency that was sharing his workflow said that it takes him something like 20 hours on an image and 500 generations to kind of get it where it wants to be—like top quality.”

Remember to budget time for iteration cycles because your ROI comes from replicability and scale, not one shot perfection. 

6. Making Creatives Is Mostly An Effort Barrier

You don’t need to be a tech wizard to leverage the best AI UGC tools or create compelling AI-generated images or videos. Jakub shares his background with us: 

“No programming skills on my side, no computer science, no nothing. My background is psychology.”

“It’s effort-based. You need to put in some effort, and then you have it. I can do it. I’m not a programmer. I’m a game designer. I can do Excel sheets like maths and economy, but I can’t code, and I was able to do all these things. So it’s not that hard.” 

The real barrier here is psychological and the willingness to put in the hard work. There’s going to be a lot of experimentation, failure, and iteration. Open-source AI tools are remarkably accessible for those willing to invest the effort. The advanced AI techniques for content creators are getting more user-friendly than ever. 

Set aside time in your calendar to test and experiment. Try to have fun and play during your R&D and not think of it as a productivity tool…at least not yet. 

7. You Can Use ChatGPT As a Debugging Partner

One of the most practical insights from our talk with Jakub emphasized using accessible tools like ChatGPT to help you troubleshoot technical problems in real time. Jakub shares his advice:

…when working with these tools: Whatever errors or stuff that you have there, just throw it into ChatGPT, and it will just tell you in layman’s terms like, ‘You need to do this, you need to do that, you need to do this.’ And it’s great because, again, we need to realize that suddenly we have this AI that’s literally right there sitting in the corner for us.

Using AI Chat can dramatically lower the technical barrier for entry into making and designing ad creatives. There’s always access to a 24/7 help center. 

Leveraging AI assistants not only for aspects of the creative process, but for learning and troubleshooting should be integrated into your workflow. You’ll see yourself grow exponentially. 

8. You Can Steal Workflows to Learn Faster

Programmers do it all the time. You can too. Jakob is refreshingly direct about the fastest path to ad creative competency and it’s not as creative as you think: copy and paste. The main tip is to only copy what’s working. 

“All of these workflows that I have here, you just take from someone else…You don’t need to. It’s very easy because all of these things…you just take from someone else.”

There’s no need to re-invent anything when it comes to making effective ad creatives with Open-source AI. The AI creative community is openly sharing effective workflows for everything from hook generator AI tools to complete production pipelines. Your main goal is to adapt workflows to suit specific target audience and needs. 

All you need to do is join different AI creative communities, follow other creators on social media, and seamlessly copy and edit workflows that align with your use case.

9. It’s About Understanding the Process

The main goal here isn’t to master every single AI tool for making ad creatives. The most important strategy is to understand the landscape well enough to make informed decisions about AI UGC content, AI-powered content and AI ad creatives, their strategy and production. 

Jakub believes that: 

“You don’t need to specifically do it, but at least know that there are these options. Because that way, you won’t get sidelined. You won’t get in a situation where somebody tells you something, you can’t call their B.S., and you don’t know if this is the best, not the best, or are they even telling you the truth.”

This knowledge enables better conversations with freelancers, contractors, agencies, and digital creatives. It allows for more realistic timelines and smarter budget allocation across digital advertising channels. 

In order to understand how an ad creative in the AI era is made, you should be aware of which tools and methods for your use case and product. 

10. Starting Now Is Better Than Later

The last reason for why you should adopt an AI workflow is “living in the now.” For Jakub, it was a combination of trends and also F.O.M.O. : 

The biggest problem was I didn’t understand how this thing works, which for me is the biggest itch. 

Like, ‘I need to do something about this,’ because I don’t feel safe…I don’t feel on top of it if I don’t understand how it works. So it kind of drives me to kind of go into this rabbit hole and learn about it.

We start 2026 with tech delivering value in creating viral and realistic advertising creatives, but genuine competitive advantages are still available to those who move quickly. 

Why not start with time to test different AI-powered tools? One hour of prompting is worth more than reading about it. 

The Bottom Line

The integration of AI into creative workflows is more about staying ahead of the curve. Mobile game marketers, solo developers, and digital creators who embrace AI UGC, AI-generated images and videos, and advanced AI techniques for their content creation will gain significant advantages in testing speed, creative diversity, and cost efficiency. 

There’s a community and many resources waiting and ready to help. 

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post Ad Creatives in 2026: 10 Reasons to Adopt an AI Workflow Now appeared first on Tenjin.

In this Tenjin ROI 101, we sat down with Joseph Kim, founder of GamerMakers, who builds gaming and non-gaming apps. In our discussion, he reveals why India represents the “biggest opportunity” in the mobile industry right now.

Joseph reveals a fundamental shift in consumer behavior in India. It’s a goldmine for developers who know how to play their cards right. But what makes this growth story different from every other emerging market you’ve heard about? 

The real data tells a compelling story: ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) growth has jumped by 9X in only 5 years. This is a lot more than just incremental gains. The geo-transformation is driven by evolving consumer trends, with asymmetric opportunities for those who can spot this dynamic reality. 

What really matters are the elements driving these consumer trends and overall growth within the mobile space. Who is driving growth? Why is it exploding? What are the structural advantages?
The answer to all these questions are found within the same demographic: India’s middle class.

Meet the Indian Middle Class: A Primary Target Audience

This primary target audience is not a niche segment. There’s hundreds of millions of consumers, predominantly aged 18-35. They are increasingly mobile-first, digitally savvy, and have some extra cash they’re willing to spend.

They’re also oung enough to be digital natives, still old enough to have some income. So they’re open to technological adoption, and living within the intersection of cultural transformation. It’s a sweet spot for mobile gaming and it’s an ideal audience for your next mobile game. 

What’s Reshaping Consumer Behavior in India

According to Joseph, here’s where things get really interesting. The past five years and the post-COVID landscape has created unprecedented opportunities for mobile app developers and marketers: 

“Over the past, call it five to ten years—well actually especially in the last five years—and post-COVID, there was a shift… the Indian middle class has been growing substantially. ” 

Two major forces hit at once and accelerated this transformation in ways nobody predicted:

The first is the manufacturing renaissance in India, after a lot of production shifted from China into India. It created a lot of jobs and increased production within India itself. It created more jobs and birthed newly-minted consumers, who have become part of the rising middle class income in India. Suddenly, millions of people had more stable employment, better salaries, and disposable income. 

The second major force has been the remote work revolution, which is more relevant to tech and the mobile industry. Joseph shares that:  

“a lot of Indian developers were able to secure jobs with higher salaries, displacing US software engineering jobs because of the remote nature of work.”

There are millions of young Indians earning more than their previous salaries and they’re working from home, with more discretionary spending power than ever before. 

In a mobile-first economy, what are they doing in their downtime? 

They’re probably on their phones…and, most likely playing a game. 

Consumer Behavior Data That Demands Attention

The data from the last few years is quite staggering. Joseph reveals: 

“We are seeing that in just a five-year span, the ARPPU growth from 2020 to 2025 has been 9X, starting at $3 in 2020 to $27 in 2025.” 

That is 9X growth in the average daily spend per paying user (ARPPU). 

Forget about incremental gains because this exponential growth is trending upwards. The data tells us a completely different story from conventional wisdom. Kim emphasizes that: 

“India has historically and traditionally been viewed as a market where it’s hard to monetize—which has been the case—I think that there are data points that suggest that it’s very possible to make significant revenue out of India if you make the right product.” 

It’s about understanding that consumer behavior in India has fundamentally evolved. The middle class has both the means and the willingness to spend on mobile entertainment that resonates. This implies that also you have to build the right product. 

More money in people’s pockets means more money available for entertainment. It is booming. 

India’s Mobile-First Economy: A Unique Advantage

To understand why India represents such a massive opportunity for mobile gaming, look at the fundamental geographical differences. The market structure is very distinct from western spheres. 

Indian culture goes beyond mobile-friendly. It’s a mobile-first economy and it got there through technological leapfrog. Joseph explains that:

“The vast majority of the Indian market has mobile phones. Very few—I think the penetration of the PC market in India is significantly lower, something like 10 to 15% penetration, relative to phones which is the vast majority. I think 80%+ of the market has access to mobile phones.” 

Compare this to western markets, where gaming itself is something that’s fragmented. You can play games across consoles, PCs, handheld devices, and mobile and it’s been like that for decades. Different platforms, each with their own audience, different revenue streams… and they are all competing for the same players’ attention, time, and money. 

For much of India, mobile gaming is the only known type of gaming. With many free-to-pay models, it’s become a mainstream, everyday activity.

What Makes India Different?

“This is certainly a mobile-first country that also spends a ton of time on their smartphones per day and is one of the top countries in the world in that aspect,” says Kim.

And the strategic convergence is clear. First, you have a mobile-first economy with over 80% penetration that’s still growing. Compared to other markets, there is no fight for hardware adoption because the infrastructure is already there. There’s limited competition from other gaming platforms. 

Second, Indians rank among the highest daily smartphone users globally, with clearly established behavior patterns spanning hours per day. Combine this with a growing middle class (and their growing disposable income) and a young, digitally-native demographic, 

If we connect the dots, it almost seems too good to be true. It’s the perfect storm for mobile gaming studios to create targeted products and builds aimed at the middle.

The Demand Gap: Two Games Dominate 

One of the most interesting and revealing aspects of India’s gaming market: there are only two games that dominate. Joseph calls the attention to all mobile game developers: 

“This is, to me, the most surprising aspect of the Indian gaming market, where you’re seeing two games represent a huge portion of the Indian gaming market. Which to me indicates that if you give Indian consumers or players a product that resonates with them in a way that Battle Royale has, they will spend.”

This massive concentration around just a few titles is a stark contrast to most mature markets. In the US, UK, Korea, and Japan… in most places there is some kind of fragmentation. There are dozens of games and apps competing for wallet shares and you players switching between titles. There’s diversity and a healthy, competitive ecosystem. 

In India? Most people are interested in the Battle Royale genre.

This isn’t a sign of market maturity or saturation. It’s a sign of massive unfulfilled demand. Indian players have proven they’ll spend (and spend heavily) on games that match preferences, cultural context, and play styles. But, there simply aren’t enough games built specifically for this market. After work as a gamer you have two real options. Two games to funnel all your gaming time and money into.

Joseph believes that this demand gap represents the single biggest opportunity in the mobile gaming market in India today. The players are there. The spending power is there. The market is practically begging for new, quality content that speaks to Indian gamers.

The RMG Ban: Even More Opportunities

If you’ve been following India gaming market trends, you’re aware of the challenges. There was a ban around Real Money Gaming (RMG) last year. Multiple Indian states have implemented bans or restrictions on RMG platforms, creating significant disruption in the market. 

“The ban on RMG to some degree has been viewed negatively, but you can also take the opposite side of that and consider that what that does with the RMG ban is it frees up a lot of discretionary spend by Indian consumers to spend in other application areas.”

Kim redirects us to a bigger picture and predicts that: 

“what we are going to see is the freeing up of discretionary spend and the opportunity for a new app or game developer to create a product that sucks up a lot of that spend.” 

Consumer spending that was locked up in RMG platforms is now looking for a new home. It will most likely stay within gaming verticals. These players aren’t going to stop gaming and their behavior has a pattern. 

For mobile game developers with the right product, one that is localized for India, this represents a massive redistribution. 

The next question is, which gaming studios and developers are going to be able to capture it? 

Key Takeaways

1. India’s middle class market is bigger than you think

“I think what we’re seeing is a market that actually—and surprisingly—has a lot of dramatic growth that is not that well understood by people outside of India,” Kim emphasizes.

2. Monetization in India is expanding

The 9X ARPPU growth proves that Indian players will pay if there’s something worth paying for. 

3. Mobile-First Means Mobile-Only

With 80%+ mobile penetration but only 10-15% PC penetration, mobile gaming isn’t competing with other platforms. It is the platform. 

4. India’s mobile game demand gap is your opportunity 

Two games dominating the market isn’t a barrier to entry. Rather, it’s proof of untapped demand for games and apps that resonate. The market wants options. 

5.  India’s middle class is your target audience

Focus on the demographic with growing middle class income in India levels, post-COVID job growth, and increased discretionary spending. These are your early adopters, your whales, your community builders.

6. Cultural relevance matters

It’s not only about localization. Successful products that are built specifically for consumer behavior in India, including preferences and cultural context. Hitting these notes shows your understanding of local preferences, social dynamics, payment methods, and what works best with players.

7. Timing is everything

With the recent RMG regulatory shift, the post-COVID economic transformation, and the remote work revolution all occurring and shaping the present culture, it’s evident that India’s market is in transition. The window for early movers is open, but it won’t stay forever. 

The mobile gaming market in India isn’t just an opportunity. It is arguably one of the best opportunities in mobile gaming right now. The middle class is growing, spending power is increasing, and the infrastructure (both technological and cultural) for mobile gaming monetization is settling in. 

Are you ready to aim for the middle? 

Marketing Content Manager

Tara Meyer

The post The Mobile Gaming Market in India: Aiming for the Middle appeared first on Tenjin.

In this case study, we explore how SuperGaming, one of India’s leading gaming companies leveraged Tenjin to overcome challenges and scale user acquisition (UA).

Here’s a snapshot of their impressive results:

• 25% increased app installs within the first 60 days
• 15% blended CPI reduction 
• Significant uplift in ROAS
• Accurate cohort visibility

About SuperGaming

SuperGaming is one of India’s leading mobile game companies, building genre-defining IPs for a global audience. With over 200 million players worldwide, the studio operates a diverse portfolio spanning battle royale, social multiplayer, mid-core action, and casual strategy, across both iOS and Android. Known for a strong performance-driven and player first community culture, SuperGaming runs high-velocity live operations and large-scale user acquisition across multiple titles and markets.

The Challenge

Before Tenjin, their biggest hurdle was stitching together data from multiple user acquisition (UA) channels into a single reliable view. Running rapid experiments across multiple geographies required faster feedback loops. 

The Solution

Tenjin was able to streamline SuperGaming’s performance insights, unify their attribution, and allow them to scale their UA efforts with clarity and speed. This reduced overall analysis time and the data helped back optimization decisions.

The Results

Just as fragmented attribution created blind spots in SuperGaming’s scaling engine, Tenjin provided a clean path forward. With 200M+ players across multiple titles and geographies, they moved from stitching together scattered UA data to a single, reliable view. It was enhanced with precise attribution, streamlined cohort tracking, and clear spend-to-outcome visibility.

Within 60 days of switching their key titles to Tenjin, SuperGaming achieved a 15% blended CPI reduction and a 25% increased app installs volume, all while gaining accurate cohort visibility. This enabled them to reallocate spend toward ROAS-positive channels, delivering significant uplift in returns.

But winning at India’s mobile gaming scale takes more than just a nice dashboard. Tenjin’s responsive, practical support made all the difference. Access to dedicated Slack channels for rapid issue resolution, an intuitive UI that cut analysis time, and hands-on guidance helped to tighten scaling cycles.

The result? Cleaner attribution, faster feedback loops, and the control SuperGaming needed to keep their edge in one of the world’s most competitive gaming markets.

The post 60 Days to Scale: How SuperGaming Increased App Installs by 25% appeared first on Tenjin.

That’s exactly what Fusee — an Istanbul, Türkiye-based studio with 150M+ downloads — ran into as they scaled UA and continued growing their self-publishing efforts.

Here’s a snapshot of their impressive results:

• 3x UA spend while maintaining strong ROI
• 2.5x Monthly revenue
• 0 Time spent digging data manually

About Fusee

Founded in 2009, Fusee shifted its full focus to mobile games in 2015 and has since surpassed 150 million downloads worldwide. 

Over the years, they’ve launched multiple hit titles with leading publishers and began successfully self-publishing in 2023. 

Their mission is to continue creating fun, simple, and high-quality mobile games, always striving to deliver the next experience players love and return to.

Challenges

• Before Tenjin, Fusee relied on an MMP that came with high attribution costs and unexpected hidden fees, even after accounting for reimbursements from the Turkish government.

• Additionally, recurring issues detecting fraudulent ad revenue forced them to manually dig through raw data, wasting hours every week.

• The onboarding was complicated, the setup relied only on SDK data, which limited accuracy, and the dashboard was slow and laggy. 

• On top of that, support requests were often delayed or unresolved.

Solution

Tenjin solved all of the issues Fusee faced with their previous MMP.

• Pricing: Tenjin offered clear, cost-effective, and fully transparent pricing. Their all-inclusive model allowed Fusee to scale confidently, knowing that any future features would be included at no extra cost. Even without the 60% reimbursements provided by the Turkish government, Tenjin was the better option for Fusee in terms of pricing.

• Dashboard Speed: Tenjin’s dashboard has been consistently fast and reliable.

• Integration & Support: From day one, Tenjin provided responsive, hands-on support through a dedicated Slack channel. The onboarding process was straightforward, easy, and flexible.

• Unique ad revenue fraud detection: Tenjin is unique in offering two sources of ad revenue data in the dashboard: ad revenue from the mediation via the SDK and ad revenue pulled directly from ad network APIs. Comparing these data sources helps Fusee quickly identify discrepancies and detect anomalies in ad revenue.

Tools

Conclusion

Fusee’s growth story shows how quickly UA and self-publishing momentum can be held back by tools that weren’t built to scale with you. High attribution costs, surprise fees, slow dashboards, and unreliable fraud detection didn’t just impact spend efficiency—they created operational drag that forced the team into manual work and slowed decision-making.

By switching to Tenjin, Fusee removed those blockers with transparent, all-inclusive pricing, a fast and dependable dashboard, and hands-on onboarding and support. Most importantly, Tenjin’s dual-source ad revenue visibility (SDK + direct network APIs) gave Fusee a practical way to catch discrepancies and reduce time lost investigating fraud.

The result: Fusee scaled confidently—tripling UA spend while maintaining ROI, growing monthly revenue 2.5x, and eliminating manual data digging—so the team could stay focused on what matters most: building great hybrid-casual games and expanding their self-publishing success.

The post How This Turkish Studio Tripled Its Ad Spend After Switching to Tenjin – A Fusee Case Study appeared first on Tenjin.