Eden Liu, global business head, BIGO Ads, look at why the challenge for game developers is understanding how to monetise impressions, and how ads impact the player...

For a long time, mobile game monetisation was largely treated as a question of demand management.

Developers integrated more ad networks, built deeper waterfalls, adjusted floor prices, and watched eCPM movements closely. For many teams, success depended on how quickly they could identify which network performed best, in which market, and for which placement.

That playbook is now starting to show its limits.

The challenge for game developers is no longer simply filling inventory. It is understanding which impressions should be monetised, how aggressively they should be priced, and how each decision affects the broader player experience.

This is why the next stage of game monetisation will not be defined only by in-app bidding adoption. Bidding is important, but the bigger shift is what it enables: a move from ad monetisation to inventory intelligence.

Every impression tells a different story

One of the biggest mistakes in monetisation is treating inventory as if it were uniform.

A rewarded video impression is not just a rewarded video impression. Its value changes depending on who the player is, where they are, how deep they are in the session, what they are doing in the game, and what advertisers are willing to pay at that specific moment.

A player watching a rewarded video to continue a level may represent a very different opportunity from a player watching one to unlock optional currency. An interstitial shown after a natural level break may carry a different user experience cost from one shown during a high-intent gameplay moment.

Geography adds another layer. The same placement in the US, Japan, Brazil, or Southeast Asia can attract different levels of demand, different campaign objectives, and different price expectations.

Waterfall-based monetisation was not designed to understand all of this in real time. It was designed to allocate demand based on rules, rankings, and historical averages.

That is useful, but it is not enough for the way games are monetised today.

Bidding was the starting point, not the destination

When in-app bidding first gained momentum, the industry conversation was mostly about efficiency.

The benefits were clear: less manual waterfall management, more transparent competition, and better access to real-time demand. For monetisation teams that had spent years adjusting floors and reordering networks, bidding offered a much-needed operational upgrade.

But the more important impact is deeper than workflow efficiency.

Bidding changes the question developers ask.

In a waterfall setup, the question is often:

Which demand source should get the first opportunity?

In a bidding environment, the question becomes:

What is this impression worth right now?

That is a very different way of thinking.

It shifts monetisation from a static allocation model to a real-time value discovery model. Instead of relying mainly on yesterday’s performance to decide today’s priorities, developers can use real-time competition to understand the current value of each impression opportunity.

The rise of inventory intelligence

This is where inventory intelligence comes in.

Inventory intelligence means using data, automation, and real-time market signals to make smarter decisions about every monetisation opportunity. It is not just about connecting more demand sources. It is about knowing when an impression is valuable, why it is valuable, and how it should be monetised without damaging long-term user value.

At BIGO Ads, we have seen more game developers shift their operational focus from waterfall optimisation to bidding-first monetisation strategies over the past two years. This is not just a technical migration. It reflects a wider change in how developers think about revenue operations.

The most mature teams are no longer asking only how to increase eCPM. They are asking more nuanced questions:

• Which user segments can support higher-value ads?
• Which placements are underpriced?
• Where is fill rate being protected at the cost of yield?
• Where is short-term revenue creating pressure on retention?

These are not simple waterfall questions. They are inventory intelligence questions.

Moving beyond eCPM

eCPM will remain an important metric. It is still one of the clearest ways to understand advertiser willingness to pay.

But eCPM alone is no longer enough.

A high eCPM demand source may deliver limited fill. A strong revenue spike may come from placements that weaken player engagement. A market that looks less valuable on average may still contain specific cohorts that deserve more competitive pricing.

For game developers, the goal is not to maximise one number in isolation. The goal is to improve overall yield efficiency while protecting the player experience that supports long-term revenue.

This is especially important for games using hybrid monetisation models. In games where both ads and in-app purchases contribute to revenue, every monetisation decision has a trade-off. Showing an ad to the wrong user at the wrong time may generate immediate revenue but reduce future engagement or purchase intent.

Inventory intelligence helps developers take a more balanced view. It allows teams to think about impressions not just as ad opportunities, but as moments within a broader player journey.

The monetisation team is changing

As bidding and automation mature, the role of monetisation teams will continue to evolve.

In the past, many teams spent a large share of their time managing waterfalls, comparing network performance, and making manual adjustments. Those tasks will not disappear overnight, but they will become less central.

The future monetisation team will look more strategic.

It will focus on audience segmentation, placement design, ad experience, inventory valuation, and long-term revenue quality. Its job will be less about manually deciding which network should rank first and more about building systems that can make better decisions at scale.

That is the real promise of inventory intelligence.

It allows developers to move beyond simply selling impressions and toward understanding the economic value of each impression in context.

For game developers, this shift matters because competition is no longer only about having access to demand. Most serious publishers already work with multiple demand partners.

The next advantage will come from knowing inventory better.

The future of game monetisation will not be won by the teams that show the most ads or connect the most networks. It will be won by the teams that understand when, where, and how each impression creates value — for advertisers, for developers, and for players.

Eden Liu, global business head at BIGO Ads, responsible for the company’s global monetisation and growth business. He has worked extensively with mobile game developers, app publishers, and advertisers across global markets, helping them navigate evolving trends in user acquisition, monetisation, and programmatic advertising. His focus is on enabling sustainable growth through AI-driven optimisation and data-informed decision-making.