Almedia's Jan Sommerfeld on why an over-reliance on short-term ROAS is the mobile sector's most common mistake

Pocket Gamer Connects, the leading international conference series for the global games industry, returns to London on January 19th to 20th, 2026. 

The must-attend conference will bring together 3,000 delegates from 70+ countries, including decision makers from key international games hubs across the globe. Companies set to join the show include Supercell, Epic Games, Duolingo, CD Projekt Red, Tencent, PlayStation, EA, AppLovin, TikTok and many more.

PGC London will host 32 tracks across two days, including at the Apps Business Summit (January 19th) and the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit (January 20th).

One of the speakers set to join the conference is Almedia chief operating officer Jan Sommerfeld.

Before joining Almedia in 2023, he co-founded Rocket Internet’s emerging markets real estate platform Lamudi, and later led operations at Lykon.

At Almedia, Sommerfeld oversees strategic operations, helping the company scale its operations as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe over the past three years.

Sommerfeld will be hosting a session entitled 'Rewarded UA In 2026: The Growth Playbook' on The Growth Track.

We caught up with Sommerfeld ahead of the show to discusses the rewarded UA space and why companies should look further than D30.

PocketGamer.biz: What’s the most common mistake you see being made in the games sector?

Jan Sommerfeld: The most common mistake is an over-reliance on short-term ROAS as the primary measure of success. Too many teams optimise heavily for D1 or D7 performance without properly accounting for long-term player value. That kind of thinking can lead to decisions that look good on paper early on but end up limiting growth over time.

The developers who consistently win are the ones who think holistically about lifetime value (LTV). They don’t ignore D7 and D30, but measure all the way out to D180 or even D360. They understand that meaningful engagement, retention, and monetisation compound over time, and that early signals do not always tell the full story.

In a market where acquisition is expensive and competition is fierce, long-term thinking is no longer optional.

Where are the next big opportunities in the mobile games market?

One of the biggest opportunities lies in better monetising non-payers. The reality is that the majority of players will never make an in-app purchase, but that doesn’t mean they lack value.

We’re seeing growth in models that reward alternative kinds of engagement, including cashback, rewarded ad engagement, and other value exchanges that still share advertising budgets with the player.

Also, by focusing on longer-term player value instead of immediate spend, developers can unlock new revenue streams while also improving retention and loyalty. The opportunity is both to monetise more players, and to do so in ways that enhance the player experience.

What do you think the next big disruptor in mobile games will be?

Rewarded UA is becoming mainstream. As a younger industry, rewarded UA had some growth to do in order to become a major player. Now, more established players in the industry have the scale and product quality in place to hold their own against major players like Meta and Google.

As pressure increases on traditional UA models, developers are looking for alternatives that deliver quality players and long-term value.

If developers can fold rewarded monetisation in with gameplay more smoothly, we will see the rewarded UA sector grow and scale a massive amount and disrupt mobile game advertising in the long term.

What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?

Rising acquisition costs combined with low-quality traffic remain the biggest challenge for many developers. It is increasingly expensive to reach players, and not all traffic delivers meaningful engagement or long-term value. This imbalance puts significant pressure on studios, particularly smaller teams.

The solution is not simply higher spend, but better acquisition. That is why rewarded user acquisition models are gaining traction, especially when games are designed with these mechanics in mind from the outset. When acquisition, engagement, and monetisation are aligned, developers can build healthier funnels and more sustainable businesses, even in a difficult market.

Is there a console or PC trend that you think has potential within the mobile space?

Long-term progression systems from live service PC and console games translate well to mobile, and it’s only a matter of time before we see mobile buy in even further.

These games give players clear goals over weeks and months rather than focusing only on single-session objectives, and that mindset is becoming increasingly relevant on mobile.

Mobile games are already moving in this direction, but rewards can accelerate the shift. From what we’ve already seen, longer reward funnels encourage loyalty and deepen engagement, leading to higher-quality users. Mobile is well positioned to adopt these systems quickly, especially when rewards reinforce commitment instead of replacing strong game design.

What key trend should we be paying attention to in the next 12 months?

To a lot of people, AI is a trend that risks crossing over into buzzword territory. However we’ve found genuine uses of AI technology which are currently already building out in a practical way, rather than just being hype. The most valuable use cases are those where AI supports human decision-making instead of attempting to replace it.

For example, we use machine learning to optimise ROAS in our reward structures, allowing our account managers to work with advertisers more efficiently and productively.

We’ve also been using this hybrid AI approach in our creative ideation. AI allows us to iterate and test concepts far more efficiently, which means our creative team can focus on the strategy and direction AI could never replace.

AI is a key trend in mobile advertising because it helps us in efficiency and predictability, rather than just being a fad that’ll fall out of fashion.