Rewarded Ads

Opt-in ad units that pay the user in-app currency or an item in exchange for watching or interacting with the ad.

The user chooses to engage, usually to earn coins, an extra life, or bonus content, so the exchange is explicit and consent is built in. Because the trade is voluntary, rewarded formats carry high completion rates and command some of the strongest effective CPMs in app monetization. You place the unit at a natural friction point, gate a reward behind it, and verify completion server-side before granting the currency so the payout cannot be spoofed.

Take a casual game where the player runs out of lives. Instead of a hard paywall you offer a rewarded video: watch thirty seconds, get one life back. Plenty of players who would never pay will happily trade attention, so you monetize the free tier without pushing anyone toward the uninstall button.

Over-rewarding trains players to stop paying. If the rewarded loop hands out enough currency to replace your in-app purchases, you erode the very spenders who fund the game, and your purchase revenue drops even as ad revenue rises. Teams tune rewards for engagement and forget those rewards compete directly with the store.

The reward has to be worth watching but never worth buying instead.