Casual games are the largest and most accessible segment of mobile gaming — easy-to-learn titles played in short bursts (puzzle, match-3, idle, arcade). They sit on a spectrum between hyper-casual games (even simpler, almost purely ad-monetized) and midcore titles (deeper systems, [[iapGlossaryIn-App Purchase (IAP)Any purchase made inside an app after installation — consumables, non-consumables, or subscriptions. Processed by Apple or Google, who take a 15-30% commission.]]-led). Commercially the defining trait is breadth: huge install volumes, a long free-playing tail, and a small monetizing minority.
Monetization is almost always hybrid. A rewarded-video and interstitial adGlossaryInterstitial AdA full-screen ad format shown between app sessions, level transitions, or natural break points. Forced-view (unlike rewarded video), so timing and frequency are crit... layer ([[ad-monetization]]) earns from the free majority, while [[iap]] — currency packs, removing ads, progression — captures the engaged few. Because median [[arpuGlossaryARPU (Average Revenue Per User)Total revenue in a period divided by the user base for that period — the blended revenue-per-user metric, including non-paying users.]] is low and revenue is [[whaleGlossaryWhale (High-Spending Player)A player who spends substantially more than the average paying user — typically the top 2-5% of paying players by lifetime spend, who generate ~80% of F2P revenue.]]-concentrated, casual games optimize both halves at once: ad [[ecpmGlossaryeCPM (Effective Cost Per Mille)The revenue a publisher actually earns per 1,000 ad impressions — the publisher-side counterpart to CPM, after auction dynamics, fill rates, and floor prices.]] and fill on one side, payer conversion on the other. See [[mobile-game-monetization]] for the full model.
Growth is paid-acquisition-heavy — games run [[paid-uaGlossaryPaid UA (Paid User Acquisition)Mobile app user acquisition via paid advertising channels — Meta, TikTok, Google, AppLovin, ironSource, and other ad networks.]] at far higher rates and paid shares than content apps (a median paid share above half of installs), funded by fastGlossaryFree Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST)Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV — linear, channel-style streaming services (Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku Channel) that are free to viewers and monetized entirely through adve... ad-[[arpdauGlossaryARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User)Total revenue in a period divided by the average daily active users in that period — the per-day-per-active-user revenue rate.]] and relatively low [[cpiGlossaryCost Per Install (CPI)The average amount an advertiser pays for a single install attributed to a campaign — total spend divided by attributed installs.]]. The hard part is the back end: games show the highest day-1 [[retentionGlossaryRetention (D1 / D7 / D30)The percentage of users from a cohort who return to the app N days after install. D1 = day-1 retention, D7 = 7-day, D30 = 30-day. The single most important non-reven...]] of any category but the steepest decay, so the genre lives or dies on the [[live-ops]] and progression that fight novelty churnGlossaryChurnThe rate at which users stop using an app (general churn) or cancel a subscription (subscription churn) over a time window — retention's mathematical complement..
