Super Bowl Ads For Mobile Games (Probably) Paid Off Big

The first screenshot available on Game of War‘s website. Machine Zone

Besides last-minute interceptions and Left Shark, the record 114.4 million people who watched last weekend’s Super Bowl XLIX saw many commercials for videogames. These pricey ad spots were not bought up by big console games, but by free-to-play mobile apps like Game of War, Clash of Clans, and Heroes Charge.

Could it possibly be worth spending $4.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime to get people to take notice of your free-to-play phone game?

According to analytics firm Appfigures, all three games saw an uptick in downloads following their Super Bowl spots: Heroes Charge moved from an unranked position to number 86 in the iOS games category, while Game of War and Clash of Clans moved up 95 and 18 slots respectively.

Each of these games makes its money through in-app purchases that get users to pay for bonuses after they’ve started playing: an energy recharge, an extra pack of barbarians.

User acquisition—getting more people to start playing—is paramount. And it’s expensive. According to mobile market researcher Fiksu, the cost per loyal user rose steadily throughout 2014, peaking at $2.25 in September and staying over $2 ever since.

Since such a small percentage of users of free-to-play games actually pay anything, they need to draw in many, many players to keep earning money. Thus, mobile gamemakers with big ad budgets took the opportunity to reach a wider audience with the Super Bowl and other big TV spots.

“Through television, we’re seeing a ten-fold growth in our player volume, and with more than one million apps for players to choose to engage with, it’s really increased the cost to market in what is now an overly saturated area,” said Benjamin Gifford of uCool, which makes Heroes Charge, in an interview with AdWeek.

Game of War‘s ads starring a scantily-clad Kate Upton are the television equivalent of the notorious “come play, my lord” exploitative ads for the free game Evony seen across the Internet throughout the 2000s. But the ads work. Game of War‘s Super Bowl buy is part of a $40 million ad campaign that has rocketed the game to an estimated daily revenue of more than $1 million.