The first half of 2023 saw a 23% half-on-half increase in the number of in-app purchases on Android devices and a 24% increase on Apple devices over the same period, according to Tenjin’s latest report.

Despite this increase in in-app purchases, both platforms saw declines in average effective cost per mile (eCPM) in H1 2023 compared to H2 2022, with iOS seeing declines of 12% while Android eCPM fell 26%.

Tenjin notes that this data shows that the trend of hybrid monetisation is continuing, with more and more mobile game makers shifting away from their traditional focus on in-game advertising towards in-app purchases.

Android saw no change in the top five countries based on total installs between 2022 and H1 2023. India maintained its first place position, followed by Brazil, the USA, Indonesia, and Mexico. The iOS charts saw significant changes however: while the USA and Japan maintained their positions in first and third place, respectively, the UK climbed three places from fifth to second place.

2022’s second place country in terms of installs, China, fell out of the top five entirely, reflecting the recent volatility in the market.

The power of ad networks

Although the top five ad networks remained largely unchanged on both Android and iOS in H1 2023 compared to 2022, there was some change in the order.

AppLovin was identified as the top ad network for Android in 2022, and H1 2023 saw it fall one spot to second place. Likewise, Mintegral fell one slot to third place. Google Ads, which was in third place in 2022, emerged as Android’s top ad network in H1 2023. Meta took fourth place, replacing Unity Ads, while ironSource maintained its fifth place ranking period-on-period.

iOS devices saw more volatility. While 2022 saw Mintegral as the top ad network, with AppLovin in second place, H1 2023 saw the two companies switch places, while ironSource maintained its third-place position across both periods.

2022 saw Unity Ads take fourth place, with Apple Search Ads in fifth. 2023 saw both of them dropping out of the top five, replaced with Meta and Google Ads respectively.

"The continuous decline in average eCPMs signals the changing monetization landscape,” said Tenjin marketing director Roman Garbar. “With that said, ad monetization is not going anywhere, and the key lies in finding a sustainable balance. The remarkable growth in the number of in-app purchases is a testament to that. Game developers have embraced hybrid monetization and successfully implemented it."

In January, Tenjin reported that CPI for hypercasual games has hit an all-time high.