PGC panel talks rewarded UA’s renaissance and the "clear" demands of users

Plenty of the games industry’s hottest topics are the current subjects of conversation at PGC London 2025, taking place right now, and rewarded user acquisition is key among them.

The "rewarded UA renaissance" has seen many new startups in this space, as user acquisition has grown increasingly challenging for developers and publishers who are now turning to new strategies to increase user retention and keep players coming back.

Of course, there are factors like ROAS and monetising those acquired players to consider too.

"Getting a user to play for three hours on a single day is going to make you less money than them playing for one hour for three days," said KashKick EVP of revenue Brad Shapiro, speaking on a panel during PGC.

He was joined on that panel by Mistplay VP, global head of commercial Aaron Thandi, Brown Boots founder Lenny Rabin, Prodege sales director Christine Rubin and ex Tripledot director of growth Danil Moskovoy.

"Are spenders born or made?"

"It’s clear there’s a need and a growing demand from users to get more rewards and be incentivised," said Thandi. "Users are craving personal attention."

"Our users are hungry on a rewarded platform. The way to approach that is to be prepared to push users deeper into those games to get those rewards," said Rubin.

Rabin, meanwhile, suggested that there are many reasons why a games maker might push for user-rewarded growth, and that being clear in one’s goal is essential to taking advantage of different reward platforms.

"If you try to copy some other game because that’s what looks like it should work, but their reasons and goals are different to yours, you can end up off course," he warned. “No two games are alike. No platforms are alike.”

Shapiro agreed: "Every platform has a different audience that behaves differently. Games publishers need to give a little more control to the platforms to decide how to encourage and engage users."

Moskovoy also noted the experimental nature of rewarded UA - very “let’s try this, let’s try that".

"We’re all trying to leverage AI to squeeze more money out of the people who spend in our apps. There are apps coming out of the woodwork it feels like every week, all trying something new to get hold of spenders," said Rubin.

As well as making the most of existing spenders, Thandi suggested there is room to encourage new players to spend through rewarded UA too: "Are spenders born or made? It’s both."

There’s still a lot more to discover from PGC London 2025, with talks and conversations ongoing throughout January 20 and 21. Check out the full schedule here.