Yearly, as This autumn budgets kick in, advertisers flood the market with demand. Video advertisements carry out at their peak. And for those who’re operating rewarded video advertisements in your cell or net recreation, November is your Tremendous Bowl. However right here’s the factor: it’s not nearly how a lot advertisers are prepared to pay. It’s about whether or not you’ll be able to really serve these advertisements to your gamers. That’s the place CPM and fill fee come into play—and belief me, the story they inform is much more attention-grabbing than you may suppose.
I’ve been monitoring November efficiency from 2023 to 2025, and the developments are wild. We’re going to interrupt down what occurred, why it issues, and—most significantly—how you should utilize this perception to crush it in 2026.
Fill Fee and CPM: Why Each Matter
Fill fee is the share of advert requests that truly get crammed with an advert. Consider it like this: in case your recreation requests 100 advertisements and solely 70 get served, your fill fee is 70%. The upper this quantity, the extra alternatives it’s a must to earn cash.
CPM (value per mille) is what advertisers pay for each 1,000 impressions. Larger CPM means you’re making extra per advert view.
Right here’s the catch: you want each working collectively. A sky-high CPM means nothing if most of your advert requests go unfilled. And an ideal fill fee with horrible CPMs? You’re principally working for peanuts.
The magic occurs when each metrics are sturdy. That’s when income really flows.
2023: Secure, Predictable, However Not Thrilling
November 2023 was… high quality. A 68% fill fee paired with a $2.11 CPM gave us a baseline that felt secure and predictable. For builders operating rewarded video advertisements—whether or not in HTML5 video games, Unity apps, or cell video games—this was a 12 months you can depend on. Advertiser demand was regular. DSPs have been operating at full capability. And for those who have been utilizing a good monetization platform, you can really forecast your income with some confidence.
However let’s be actual: that 32% of missed impressions? That’s cash left on the desk. Particularly for those who have been in fast-growing verticals like WebGL or cross-platform gaming, these gaps damage. It wasn’t a nasty 12 months. It simply wasn’t optimized.
2024: The Yr Every thing Broke
After which got here 2024. Fill charges tanked to 36%. Sure, CPM ticked up barely to $2.23, however when two-thirds of your advert requests aren’t being crammed, that greater CPM doesn’t imply a lot.
This was the 12 months that reminded everybody: you’ll be able to’t spend advertisements you’ll be able to’t serve. So what went mistaken? Just a few issues:
- Privateness adjustments tightened focusing on, particularly on cell. Advertisers couldn’t attain customers the way in which they used to, so that they pulled again stock.
- Attribution monitoring points made some advertisers nervous. Once they couldn’t measure efficiency precisely, they diminished spend.
- Community-level issues—whether or not it was mediation misconfigurations or DSP outages—created large fill gaps that shouldn’t have existed.
For builders counting on rewarded video advertisements, this was a nightmare. Though CPM regarded first rate on paper, ARPDAU (common income per each day lively consumer) dropped exhausting as a result of there simply weren’t sufficient advertisements to point out.
The lesson? A excessive CPM is nugatory if the advert by no means hundreds.
2025: The Comeback We Wanted
After which 2025 occurred, and every part clicked. Fill charges exploded to 96%. CPM held sturdy at $2.21. This was the 12 months when all of the items lastly got here collectively.
What modified?
- Smarter mediation platforms began routing impressions extra effectively. As an alternative of counting on one or two networks, builders may faucet into a number of demand sources seamlessly.
- Demand-Facet Platforms leveled up their machine studying. They obtained higher at matching stock with advertiser demand in actual time.
- International campaigns expanded. Extra advertisers ran This autumn campaigns, which meant wider demand throughout areas and genres.
Builders utilizing Unity rewarded advertisements, HTML5 net video games, or cell app advertisements lastly hit the candy spot: excessive fill fee + sturdy CPM = actual cash per consumer. And for those who have been monitoring LTV or utilizing an advert income calculator, 2025 in all probability gave you your greatest numbers in years.
Bonus win: Video completion charges stayed above 90%, which boosted eCPM and saved gamers engaged. Rewarded video advertisements proved—once more—that they’re the very best format for free-to-play monetization.
What’s Coming in 2026?
So the place will we go from right here? Primarily based on the developments and what I’m seeing within the ecosystem, right here’s what I count on for November 2026:
Prediction #1: CPMs Will Push Larger, Particularly on Internet
With extra eCommerce manufacturers, retail giants, and AI startups flooding the advert market, I believe This autumn CPMs may break $2.30—significantly for net video games and premium cell stock. The candy spots will likely be:
- Video games with lengthy play classes
- Excessive-retention apps
- Desktop browser-based video games (because of increasing WebGL assist)
Prediction #2: Fill Charges Will Keep Excessive—If You Keep Up to date
Builders who preserve their SDKs present and their integrations clear will proceed seeing fill charges within the 90%+ vary. However right here’s the warning: outdated SDKs or damaged setups will get punished. The hole between optimized and under-optimized video games goes to widen.
Prediction #3: eCPM Turns into the Metric That Issues
Uncooked CPM is okay, however efficient CPM (eCPM) will matter extra. This consists of:
- Precise income per request after mediation takes its reduce
- Income per engaged consumer, not simply per 1,000 impressions
Prediction #4: AI Will Make Advert Concentrating on Smarter
AI-powered personalization is already bettering, and it’s going to refine advert placements even additional. Video games with extremely engaged customers—like HTML5 video games, Unity apps, and platforms with wealthy consumer knowledge—will see higher CPMs as a result of advertisements will likely be extra related.
Your 2026 Monetization Guidelines
If you wish to crush it subsequent November, begin getting ready now:
✅ Use a dependable video monetization platform
✅ Combine a number of advert networks via mediation
✅ Prioritize advert engagement over sheer amount
✅ Begin prepping your This autumn technique in Q3—don’t wait till October
✅ Monitor fill fee and CPM weekly, not month-to-month
The best way to Optimize Each Fill Fee and CPM
Alright, sufficient predictions. Let’s speak motion steps.
1. Diversify Your Advert Demand with Mediation – Don’t depend on a single advert community. Use a monetization platform that connects you to a number of DSPs. If one community lags, others can fill the hole. That is the way you defend your fill fee.
2. Optimize Placement and Engagement – Don’t simply slap rewarded movies wherever in your recreation. Check placements that align with pure gameplay moments—degree completions, improve alternatives, bonus unlocks. Make the reward price it. Provide in-game foreign money, power-ups, or bonus ranges. “Watch to proceed” is weak. “Watch to double your rewards” performs method higher.
3. Check Throughout Gadgets – HTML5 video games work throughout desktop and cell, however customers interact in a different way on every platform. Optimize your advert technique per system. Desktop customers may watch longer advertisements; cell customers may want shorter ones.
4. Monitor eCPM and ARPDAU Weekly – Use dashboards or analytics instruments to calculate efficient CPM and ARPDAU each week. Don’t wait till the top of the month to appreciate one thing’s damaged. Alter in actual time.
5. Hold Your SDKs Up to date – That is non-negotiable. An outdated rewarded video SDK can destroy your fill fee. Be certain every part is updated earlier than November hits—or higher but, earlier than This autumn even begins.
Abstract – AppLixir Monetization
From 2023 to 2025, we’ve realized one factor loud and clear: CPM and fill fee must work collectively. 2023 was secure however unoptimized. 2024 had sturdy CPMs however horrible fill charges, which killed income. 2025 introduced each metrics collectively, and builders lastly noticed the payoff. As we head into 2026, the chance is there. Rewarded video advertisements are nonetheless one of many highest-performing codecs for each engagement and income. However provided that you optimize for each CPM and fill fee. So begin early. Check usually. Keep up to date. And when November 2026 rolls round, you’ll be able to make it your greatest month but.
