How Block Blast harvests its players for ad money

Block Blast, a popular mobile game, has been criticized for its aggressive monetization tactics, including in-app purchases, rewarded videos, and ad revenue sharing with game developers. The game's business model is designed to maximize revenue by tricking players into spending more money. The game's developers, 2nd Mind, use a system called 'session-based revenue sharing' which pays developers a share of the ad revenue generated on their games. The revenue share is based on the number of sessions played, with higher-paying ads generating more revenue for the developers. The game's ad revenue is generated through a partnership with Unity Ads, a mobile ad mediation platform. In 2022, Block Blast's revenue reached $500 million, with 80% of it coming from ad revenue. The game's developers have also been accused of using manipulative tactics to get players to spend more money, including using 'loot boxes' and 'gacha systems' to encourage spending. The game's success has led to the development of similar games with similar monetization models.