Mobile Games CPI Strategy: Optimize Cost and UA Efficiency

What Is CPI in Mobile Games?

The mobile gaming market is increasingly saturated, with dozens of titles launching daily. Under such conditions, game quality alone is no longer sufficient to capture user attention.

Among performance-driven growth strategies, Cost Per Install (CPI) remains one of the most widely adopted models by global mobile publishers.

Definition of CPI (Cost Per Install)

CPI is a performance-based advertising model where advertisers are charged only when a user installs the game.

It’s considered one of the most intuitive models for measuring user acquisition outcomes, making it a core strategy in mobile game marketing.

How to Calculate CPI

CPI is calculated by dividing total advertising spend by the number of actual installs driven by the campaign.

To calculate CPI:
CPI = Total Ad Spend ÷ Number of Installs

Comparison with Other Pricing Models

Why CPI Matters

CPI refers to the average advertising cost required to acquire one user via app install. It goes beyond a mere metric—it serves as a key indicator for evaluating marketing efficiency and shaping long-term advertising strategies.

Evaluating ROAS Efficiency

CPI is essential when analyzing ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).

A high CPI lowers overall profitability, even if revenue remains steady. To accurately assess campaign performance, CPI should always be evaluated alongside LTV (Lifetime Value). The ideal scenario is low CPI paired with high LTV.

Acquiring Quality Users

While minimizing CPI is a common goal, lower isn’t always better.

An excessively low CPI may bring in users with low retention or no monetization potential.

To ensure sustainable UA (user acquisition), it's crucial to understand your game’s target audience and set realistic CPI benchmarks.

Understanding Market Competitiveness

CPI offers valuable insight into market dynamics.

For instance, if your CPI is significantly higher than competitors’ in the same region and category, it may indicate poor targeting or unappealing creatives. Conversely, a lower CPI with high-quality user acquisition suggests your strategy is performing well.

Optimizing Budget Efficiency

In limited-budget scenarios, CPI strategies allow marketers to maximize user volume and accelerate game exposure.

However, an extremely low CPI may flood the game with low-quality users, ultimately reducing long-term ROI. Finding the optimal CPI balance is crucial.

Factors Affecting Mobile Game CPI

CPI isn’t determined by ad budget alone.

Various market, product, and operational factors contribute to CPI fluctuations. Understanding and optimizing these variables is essential for running successful CPI campaigns.

Game Category

Game genres influence CPI due to differences in user profiles, entry barriers, and monetization structures.

User Demand and Entry Barriers

Genres like hyper-casual games typically feature low entry barriers and simple mechanics, resulting in high install rates and lower CPIs.

Conversely, mid-core and hardcore games require more user commitment and typically involve richer graphics and complex gameplay, which leads to higher CPIs.

Monetization Model

Hyper-casual games usually rely on in-app ads due to low LTV, so CPI needs to stay low to scale user volume efficiently.

In contrast, genres like RPGs and strategy games have higher LTV via in-app purchases, justifying higher CPI to acquire monetizable users.

Creative Quality and Relevance

Genre-specific creatives impact CPI.

Hyper-casual games often showcase simple mechanics with high CTR, lowering CPI.

Mid-core and hardcore games require more explanatory creatives, which can reduce conversion rates and increase CPI.

Target Country

Demographics and market characteristics heavily influence CPI.

Purchasing Power and Market Competition

Regions with high purchasing power (e.g., North America, Western Europe) tend to have high CPI due to intense advertiser competition.

In contrast, Southeast Asia and Latin America have lower CPIs, driven by less competition and lower LTV expectations.

Device Penetration and Network Infrastructure

High-performance mobile games demand advanced hardware capabilities and robust network infrastructure.

Therefore, regions such as North America and Western Europe—with a higher concentration of premium-tier smartphones and well-established connectivity—are better suited for advertising complex titles like RPGs, mid-core, or hardcore games.

In contrast, markets with limited device capabilities or underdeveloped infrastructure are less suitable for promoting these high-CPI genres, which contributes to regional CPI discrepancies.

Operating System: iOS vs. Android

The operating system is also one of the key factors influencing mobile game CPI.

Market Share Impact

According to StatCounter, Android holds ~45.58% global OS share, while iOS trails at ~18.08%.

Android’s scale enables lower competition and broader reach, often resulting in more affordable CPIs.

iOS, on the other hand, targets premium users and faces fierce bidding, pushing CPIs higher.

Privacy Policies and Tracking

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy limits data access, reducing targeting accuracy and inflating CPI.

Android still allows relatively precise targeting, keeping CPI more stable and performance-driven.

Average CPI by Mobile Game Category

According to Business of Apps, average CPI varies by genre and platform.

This benchmark data helps publishers set realistic CPI goals based on category.

Constraints of CPI in Mobile Game Marketing

CPI tracks only the install action.

But true marketing success lies in acquiring users who engage and monetize over time.

CPI models may result in fraudulent installs or non-engaging users who download the game but never play.

Overcoming CPI Constraints

To acquire high-intent, engaged users, consider performance-based reward platforms like Playio.

Playio rewards users based on gameplay duration—not just installs.
This ensures acquired users are actively engaged and more likely to convert post-install.

Attracting High-Quality Users

Users on the Playio platform play a game for a set amount of time each day in order to receive their rewards.

This time-based engagement model significantly increases the likelihood of acquiring users who not only install the game but also remain active and ultimately convert through in-app purchases.

Playio’s proprietary campaign format, known as Time Quest, allows publishers to expose their games to a high-quality user base and guide those users to engage with the game consistently over multiple sessions.

This structured approach ensures that the rewarded users are more likely to demonstrate monetization potential and align with retention-driven campaign goals.

A Retention-Focused CPI Solution

Conventional CPI ad networks typically consider an install the final success metric, which means they have no influence over what the user does post-install.

As a result, campaigns often attract “install-only” users who never return, or worse, fraudulent installs that inflate metrics but add no value.

In contrast, Playio integrates personalized engagement systems such as daily missions, cumulative rewards, and behavior-triggered incentives—all designed to encourage continued play after installation.

By aligning advertising incentives with actual in-app user behavior, Playio consistently delivers higher retention, notably D1 and D7 retention rates.

Key Takeaways on Retention Marketing

While CPI is an essential metric, it’s not the sole determinant of campaign success.

A high-performing CPI campaign requires careful consideration of user quality, retention, and monetization potential.

For publishers aiming to acquire real players—not just installs—Playio offers a scalable, engagement-focused CPI solution.

To explore how our platform can support your user acquisition strategy, contact us at [email protected].

References

1) Business of Apps. (2025). Cost Per Install (CPI) Rates, https://www.businessofapps.com/research/cost-per-install/

2) Statcounter. (2025). Operating System Market Share Worldwide, https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/all/worldwide/2024