These marketers struggled to measure non-organic installs (NOIs) as Apple rolled out the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework last April.
With a 22% increase in the number of total gaming app installs on Android, it is evident the pandemic played a crucial role in introducing gaming to the masses. But, privacy changes on iOS led to a 13% YoY drop in installs while Android still surged 35%, causing overall User Acquisition (UA) spend to rise 18% in 2021.
As a result, $14.5 billion was spent by gaming apps on UA in 2021, with the United States holding half of the global budget. iOS's ATT privacy update led to iOS spending dropping significantly to 28% last year though iOS commanded 38% of Gaming UA budgets in 2020. Globally NOIs were also 30% lower between April and September 2021. Additionally, limited data post-ATT update led to a 6% drop in total gaming app installs on iOS.
AppsFlyer's Head of Gaming, Brian Murphy, flagged data privacy as one of the biggest growing concerns around technology. Murphy says that with privacy concerns continuing to rise, gaming marketers must focus on engagement, optimisation and measurement in 2022.
Get further insights on Gaming by downloading YouGov's whitepaper on Gaming Influencers.
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