At the end of April, NetEase officially launched the mobile version of its open-world survival game Once Human.

Prior to its mobile launch, Once Human had already exceeded 20 million PC downloads globally, with 30 million pre-registrations for the mobile version, according to official figures.

This article analyzes the game’s advertising strategy based on data from AppGrowing.

Advertising Overview

According to AppGrowing, Once Human ran a total of 4,052 ads across 42 regions and 11 ad platforms.
The majority of placements were in-feed ads, accounting for over 41%, followed by rewarded videos at over 37%.

In terms of creative formats, video dominated the campaign, making up nearly 86% of all ad creatives. Vertical videos alone accounted for close to 39%.

Advertising Peaks

Ad campaigns began in early March but remained relatively restrained for over a month, with daily creatives rarely exceeding 500 variations.

However, as the game’s launch approached in late April, ad volume ramped up significantly—peaking at over 1,600 ad creatives on April 25.

Primary Ad Platforms

Once Human primarily leveraged Google Ads, which accounted for more than 52% of its ad distribution. Meta Ads followed with a share of over 41%.

Conclusion

AppGrowing’s data reveals Once Human’s refined and diversified approach to advertising—balancing creative formats, platform choice, and timing to maximize impact.

We hope this breakdown offers valuable insights to help you optimize your own user acquisition strategy in the future.