Felix dives into ad monetization trends, focusing on the surprising rise of prison-themed games dominating the simulation and idle arcade charts.

Key insights:

Prison Life (Supercent)

~$107K/day ad revenue, ~$38M annual run rate.

DAU ~2M, nearly 100% ad-driven.

Rewarded impressions: ~4 per DAU (50% base) = $42K/day.

Interstitials: ~6 per DAU (70% base) = $60K/day.

Clever onboarding: first speed-up (Segway/tricycle) given for free → players experience premium benefit → later higher conversion.

Takeaway: “Give it free first, then charge later.”

Prison Survival (Highgame, Vietnam)

DAU ~600K. Revenue ~$21–32K/day.

Hypercasual-style “convert or die” model → if no rewarded ad, user is forced into interstitial.

Core loop 50–80s → optimized for frequent ad exposure.

Monetization mix: 6–8 interstitials per DAU = $12–15K/day; rewarded = $2–3K/day; banners/app open = $2K/day.

Takeaway: Hypercasual ad-monetization loops still work in 2025.

Prison Escape Journey (X Games Global, Vietnam)

DAU ~560K. Revenue ~$10–15K/day.

Essentially, a supermarket simulator reskinned with a prison theme.

Interstitials on 180s loop; rewarded ads for ramen currency; “remove ads” IAP.

Clever use of interstitial at app open instead of Google’s app open ad → eCPM $8–15 vs $2.

Prison Escape Simulator (Digital Melody)

DAU ~220K. Revenue ~$6–10K/day.

Softer ad strategy: fewer interstitials (~8 per DAU) + hidden rewarded ads.

Monetizes heavier on rewarded app open format.

Launched mid-August 2025, still scaling.

Genre Trend: Simulation → Prison Theme Takeover

A year ago, supermarket manager sims dominated top simulation charts.

Today: Prison Escape Journey is #1 in simulation.

Prison themes resonate globally — from idle arcade to forex to supermarket clones.

Takeaway: Prison is the new supermarket. Expect more reskins, higher conversion funnels, and creative UA exploiting the theme.

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This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.

Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠

Podcast:

Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Ad Monetization Trends

03:36 The Rise of Prison-Themed Games

08:57 Deep Dive: Prison Survival Game Analysis

14:54 Exploring the Supermarket Simulator Influence

20:43 Conclusion: Future of Simulation Games

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Matej Lancaric

User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant

⁠https://lancaric.me

Felix Braberg

Ad monetization consultant

⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com

Jakub Remiar

Game design consultant

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar

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Boxed with John Fardy features 'Smoke'