Games in 2026:  SplitMetrics’ Ultimate Apple Ads Playbook (+Benchmarks) • SplitMetrics

What’s Inside?

The data, user journeys and competitive tactics behind it, practical impact, and solutions to the most burning issues:

Brand and non-brand benchmarks for Games, including TTR, CR, CPT, CPA
Strategies for hypercasual, casual, mid-core, hardcore, and real-money games
Advice on ROAS-focused optimization & bidding
Practical tips on funnel and cost optimization
Guide to controlling brand campaign costs
Handling difficult competitor tactics like denial-bidding
Tips on expanding non-brand campaigns

Apple Ads is a great platform to find high-value users. If you can consistently increase your users' LTVs, you'll find great value in adding Apple Ads to your marketing mix. Even for a hypercasual game that draws most of its revenue from in-app advertisements, Apple Ads can be a significant growth opportunity, optimized for in-app purchases.

Julien Daver
Team Lead UA, at SplitMetrics

Apple Ads success in gaming comes down to how well you balance velocity with precision: hypercasual titles thrive on wide targeting, fast creative testing, and quick scale decisions to ride short-lived trends, whereas casual games demand a more deliberate strategy.

Alina Kravchuk
Strategic Customer Success Manager at SplitMetrics

In-app events add a layer of post-install visibility, as event cards can appear in App Store search results and help re-engage existing users, which is critical considering the introduction of the additional placement in search results.

Diana Tikhonova
Customer Success Team Lead at SplitMetrics

In casino and sports apps, the challenge isn’t traffic — it’s intent. Apple Ads captures high-intent users, while ASO determines how effectively that intent converts. The real opportunity lies in connecting the two: using search insights to guide creative strategy.

Natalie Tishkevich
Senior Customer Success Manager at SplitMetrics

How to bid when a competitor bids $20 on your $2 brand term just to drive up your costs? It’s one of the most challenging tactics to counter - used in categories where LTV stakes are really high, such as sports betting or finance - but it can be countered.

Michael Talashko
Head of Customer Success & Support at SplitMetrics

Scaling a sports-betting app in 2026 requires moving beyond ‘seasonal spending’ toward ‘auction elasticity.’ During events like the World Cup or Super Bowl, the cost of generic keywords often outpaces their immediate value; success is instead found in the technical alignment of custom product pages and real-time search intent.

Yana Tkachuk
Strategic Customer Success Manager at SplitMetrics

Ongoing game development is also influenced by regional preferences. For example, in Knives Out by Tencent, more realistic skins are used in Western markets, while in Japan, the game collaborates with local anime IPs to design character skins.

Yufeng Zhang
Customer Success Manager at SplitMetrics

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Skidos Grows Spend x2 and Optimizes Campaigns with SplitMetrics Acquire

“SplitMetrics Acquire has been a great help in eliminating time-consuming practices from my daily working life. We managed to invest our monthly budget in a smarter way, by cutting bids on those keywords that were not performing according to target metrics and increasing bids on keywords that were more profitable. Plus, working with their team is a pleasure, as everyone is always available, helpful and easygoing.”

Giulia Millefanti
Marketing Associate at Skidos Labs

Aged Studio increases install rate by 27% with SplitMetrics

“The main secret to increasing efficiency and scaling with Apple Ads is to build the correct campaign structure, expand keywords and use automatic rules. SplitMetrics Acquire helps with all of this. Also, their patient training for users and smooth communication ensures that we take the most of both SplitMetrics Acquire and Apple Ads.”

Sinz Yang
UA manager at Aged Studio

Players defend castle against enemies. Rush royale boosts reach

“From the start, Apple Search Ads has been a valuable iOS acquisition channel that exceeded our expectations. Now, the unique combination of campaigns across the Today tab, the Search tab, product pages, and search results delivers scale, strong return on investment, and players with high lifetime value.”