An independent mobile game studio with a portfolio of live titles, competing for players in a crowded app marketplace where rising acquisition costs were eroding margins.
Understanding the challenge
A mobile game studio was caught in a familiar squeeze: cost per install climbing, ad creative fatiguing faster than it could be replaced, and no clear view of player lifetime value. Spend was scaling, but without a profitability signal the studio was buying cheap installs that never paid back.
Our approach
We built a Demand Generation and Artificial Intelligence program aimed at value, not volume: rebuilding user acquisition around what a player is actually worth.
Key elements of our solution included:
• A restructured user-acquisition program across channels, optimized to in-app value rather than installs.
• An AI-assisted creative pipeline producing and testing ad variations at the pace the algorithms reward.
• Generative BI dashboards unifying spend, cohort retention, and LTV in a single view.
• Predictive LTV modelling to bid toward high-value players, not just cheap installs.
Technical innovation
We built a predictive LTV model that scored install cohorts within days and fed value signals back to the ad networks, so bidding optimized toward 30- and 90-day revenue. An automated creative-rotation system retired fatigued ads and promoted winners without manual babysitting.
Outcome
Cost per install fell 37% even as spend scaled, blended ROAS improved, and the studio moved from unprofitable growth to profitable, sustainable player acquisition.
