This week, I delved into Sensor Tower’s iOS active user base data to uncover the top ad-monetized games flying under the radar. Ad monetization professionals generally shun iOS, as Android is way more profitable. However, these titles might not top the charts, but they’re generating serious ad revenue from their iOS versions. Here’s a breakdown of just how much they’re making and how they’re doing it.

Goods Sort – Falcon’s iOS hit

Sitting at number 33 on iOS by daily active users, Goods Sort from Onesoft (Falcon Studio) is silently generating big numbers. Over the past 30 days, it has averaged 1.58 million daily active users (DAU) on iOS and generated $5.6 million in revenue, with $3.8 million from ads and $1.8 million from in-app purchases.

The game is a Hybrid casual puzzler where players stock items on shelves to match pairs. You can place different item types on the same shelf, allowing for smoother progression. Levels take around 8 minutes to complete, and players can watch rewarded videos to unblock shelves and make the gameplay easier.

Monetization strategy includes:

• Interstitial ads between levels and on app opens
• Rewarded videos for boosters, extra time, and shelf unlocks
• Banner ads that appear after level six

Goods Sort demonstrates how clever design and ad-focused monetization, combined with in-app purchase (IAP) sales for soft currency, can drive substantial revenue, even without a top 10 ranking.

Fruit Merge – Bravestars Juicy Ad Revenue

Another Vietnamese studio climbing the iOS DAU charts is Fruit Merge by Bravestars. Over the past 30 days, the game generated $2.7 million from ads on iOS, along with an additional $185k from in-app purchases.

Fruit Merge is a simple but sticky game where players drop fruits to merge matching ones into larger combos. A range of boosters helps ease progression and extend sessions.

The game monetizes aggressively, most notably through Google’s App Open format, which turns every app launch into a monetization event. Its primary revenue driver is interstitial ads, served every 80 seconds and preceded by a countdown screen that signals an ad break to the user. Combined with the game’s steady loop, this creates a high-volume ad economy per session.

Outlets Rush – Supercent’s Ad Machine

Outlets Rush by Supercent ranks as the 52nd largest iOS game by daily active users, with 1.05 million DAU. Over the past 30 days, it pulled in 1.8 million dollars in ad revenue on iOS, alongside just $10k from in-app purchases.

The game uses an aggressive monetization strategy that saturates the player experience with ads:

• Rewarded videos are core to progression, offering upgrades like faster movement, more cash, bigger inventory, and level completion aids.
• Interstitial ads appear frequently, triggered by a timer every 60 to 80 seconds after onboarding.
• Banner ads are present from the start of the game, refreshing every 10 seconds.
• App open ads take over 80 percent of the screen, turning every session start into a monetization event.

This aggressive strategy pays off, and is mirriored in their UA strategy where prominent logos are featured that help drive down CPIs.

Vita Mahjong — Quiet Profits from a Senior Audience

Building games for older audiences might not sound glamorous, but Vita Mahjong by Vita Studio proves it can be profitable. Over the past 30 days, the iOS version generated $1.7 million from ads, ranking it at number 52 on iOS by daily active users, with 973,000 DAU.

The game is almost entirely ad revenue-driven, with 98% of its revenue coming from ads. Interstitial ads between levels make up around 70% of total ad revenue, while banner ads begin appearing after level eleven. The game offers a $5.99 in-app purchase to remove ads, but it is not heavily promoted, as ads are more profitable.

Vita Mahjong is an excellent reminder that there is real money to be made in overlooked audiences when paired with clever ad design and solid retention.

My aim with this write up is to highlight that Ad monetized games on iOS are still very much alive and kicking. Scaling might be harder than on Android but these game proove that it can be profitable.

Next week, for premium subscribers, I’ll cover the Android games dominating ad revenue. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it!