The power of play: Unlocking growth with playables

According to AppAgent, playable ads are the fastest-growing ad format, and for good reason. The ad format uses interactive mini-games to give users a direct, hands-on taste of your app's core gameplay or concept. Playables aren't just about showing your game, they’re about giving players an experience. In them, users aren't passive viewers; they're active participants, experiencing the fun of your game firsthand.A design philosophy we use at the Ad Design Studio is that playables are the snack that sells the meal - they give players a taste, and they'll come back hungry for more.However, in the past, playables showed immense promise but faced challenges and misconceptions that sometimes limited their full potential. For example, we saw pervasive myths revolving around the significant development work and investment in creating playable elements.A new era of playable performanceUnity has invested heavily in advancing playable performance, and the results are transformative. Playables now run at 60 frames per second, with smooth interaction at any point in the experience, even when hosted externally. Unity valuation logic has also been updated, ensuring high-performing playables are identified and prioritized.On top of that, ad delivery has been streamlined and playable ad type blocks have been removed on Unity Ads. We now see consistent performance improvements across the network for playables. For example, on Unity Ads for iOS*:- 12% increase in D1 ARPU since our improvements launched.- 6.9% increase in D1 ROAS, a clear indicator of higher quality users.- Top 20 iOS advertisers consistently report CVR lifts after testing with updated playables.We’ve also seen significant monetization uplift for iOS with playables on the ironSource Ads network, both in the short and mid-term. On average**:- D0 ARPU increased 30.5%, showing immediate revenue impact per user since our improvements.- D14 ARPU improved 15.2%, suggesting playable improvements are leading to more engaged spenders.- D14 ROAS rose 5.4% demonstrating better long-term returns from playables.These aren't just incremental gains. They're proof that playables, when optimized and strategically deployed, deliver high-quality users who stick around.Technical best practices from the Ad Design StudioPlayable ad efficacy is about more than just fixing technical issues; it's also about thoughtful, user-centric design. At the Ad Design Studio, we’ve distilled years of data and creative expertise into a set of best practices that maximize playable performance for our partners.Focus on experience length:A first interaction should ideally happen around 5 seconds, and subsequent ones around 3 seconds, focus on crafting an experience that lasts around a minute or more. While this also correlates with interaction count, it’s not the most important part. We’re looking for the players who engage for a longer time, since they’re more than just attracted to the creative; they're hooked by the core game mechanic, indicating a stronger likelihood of long-term retention post-install.Orientation agility:Design with a squared composition in mind, keeping crucial elements away from corners. This should make it simpler to adapt your playable for both portrait and landscape orientations by merely repositioning UI elements and saving valuable development time.Strategic testing:Always test variations. Try different lengths, difficulties, characters, or levels to find what works best for your playable. Remember that a trend isn't a guarantee that a concept will work and is no replacement for rigorous testing. Including in your testing needs to be comparing standalone playables versus video and playables. It's crucial to test both configurations since a video can help set expectations, while a standalone playable might entice all on its own - so you need to find out which one is right for your game.Design best practicesUsers aren't looking for a tutorial from playables, they want instant gratification. You have a short window to grab their attention and keep it. Your goal is to give them the flavor of your game, not satisfy them completely. Playable design should focus on immediacy to hook users, clear and concise instructions on how to interact, and a direct CTA to close the deal.Capture and engage with hooks:Effective playables grab attention immediately. A strong intro hook is critical to nailing this. Your intro hook could be a dramatic video scene, a clear gameplay goal reveal (then panning back to the start), or a "ghost tutorial" showing what needs to be done without actually playing it out. The most important is that it's short and gets players to want to see what happens next.Animate to captivate:Humans are wired to react to movement, we can’t help but look. Ensure your playable has constant, purposeful motion to leverage this natural instinct. Key moments for animation are the start (before interaction) and on each interaction (interaction feedback). "Juice up" transitions between scenes or interactions with "wow effects" to maintain attention. Just be mindful not to overwhelm with jittery animations when users need to focus.Guide users’ attention with hierarchy:You need to have a plan for how users' attention will travel through your playables. Decide where and when you want them to focus and then use contrast, light, and color to direct them. Textual hierarchy is a huge help here, use it to create the order of operations for your playables.Keep mechanics simple:If your playable requires a lengthy tutorial or isn’t intuitive, it’s already failed. Keep interactions simple with visual indicators, like arrows and hand gestures, to teach the user. Another simple way to guide users is by using feedback to demonstrate they’ve succeeded or failed, such as confetti or “womp womp” sound effects.End with a clear CTA:You could do everything else and still fail to convert users if your call to action is confusing or unclear. Once users have progressed through the playable, your CTA should create urgency, connecting their positive experience with the playable with your game as quickly as possible. Also critical, is to only send users to the store after they've achieved a sense of fun so they have arrived at the app stores with that same feeling.Campaign management best practicesEven the best playable won't perform optimally without smart campaign strategy. Here are some quick tips to ensure your playables are performing.- Warm up creatives: Apply a 20% bid increase until new creatives reach 10K starts to ensure full exploration.- Align budget with volume: For example, use 3-5 creatives for a $500 daily cap, or a $100 per creative rule for smaller budgets.- Test iteratively: Refresh and rotate creatives frequently to avoid fatigue.- Track performance early: Monitor engagement, CTR, and CVR from day one to identify winners.- Assign to ROAS campaigns: Playables shine in ROAS-driven campaigns, especially on iOS, by pre-qualifying users for higher LTV.The future is playableThe enhancements we've made at Unity, combined with these proven best practices, mean that playable ads can, and should, be a cornerstone of your user acquisition. They deliver not just clicks, but quality users who are genuinely excited about your game.One of the best parts of playables is how easy it’s now become to create them. Tools like Unity Playworks help to make building playables easier and faster. With Playworks, using a Unity Engine plugin, you can quickly build playable ads, customize with dynamic variations, and even publish to channels, like Unity Ads and ironSource Ads. It’s what we use at the Ad Design Studio.We’re here to help you utilize this powerful ad format and grow your app. Whether you need creative audits, competitor insights, or fresh ideas for testing, our team of experts is ready to partner with you.*Source: Internal Unity Ads data. Disclaimer: Reported increases occurred on iOS devices between April-May 2025.**Source: Internal ironSource Ads data. Disclaimer: Reported increases occurred on iOS devices between July-September 2025.