Most UA teams know this. Almost none of them are doing anything different about it.
The breakdown...
UA costs rose 22% year-over-year in 2025
Day-30 retention across most genres still sits below 5%
And yet the industry keeps buying installs and wondering why ROAS is broken
Here's what the data actually shows:
Offerwall and rewarded UA flips the model
Instead of paying for installs, you pay for post-install actions
hitting level milestones
completing tutorials
reaching meaningful in-game moments
Users who earn rewards for engagement are more likely to stick around
Aarki's 2026 data suggests unifying UA and retargeting around rewarded mechanics can drive up to 20% higher LTV
If you're paying for milestones, you're paying for players
The format has been around for years. The industry is just finally running out of ways to avoid it