Online gaming company Mobile Premier League (MPL) released a new study this week in which it reveals a trend in reviews of some of the most popular mobile games: that many gamers who play these titles are unhappy with in-game advertising. Players may have similar negative reactions to things like updates and technical issues, but the breakdown of their positive and negative feelings can reveal different feelings towards different approaches to gameplay.
For its research, MPL selected the 5 most downloaded games on Google Play, identified by AppRadar’s 2024 report, then analyzed the 75,000 most relevant user reviews on these games. An MPL spokesperson summed up the general sentiment of these critics in a statement: “Data reveals that download volume does not necessarily correlate with player satisfaction. Games with similar market penetration may have dramatically different player sentiment profiles.
As an example of different player sentiments, the report shows varying player reactions to in-game monetization, and Candy Crush Saga shows a huge increase in negative sentiment, with many reviews specifically calling out intrusive ads. While many other games have shown similar dissatisfaction with ads, the increased mention of them in this game’s ads suggests that players are unhappy with this particular monetization model.
The report shows that players have similarly strong reactions to other issues with the game, with Talking Tom reviews being positive about gameplay while Ludo King shows a large number of negative mentions. Similarly, Subway Surfers reviews showed a high number of positive reviews mentioning in-game updates, while Free Fire players showed negative sentiment towards them.
It’s worth keeping in mind that players who have negative experiences and impressions with a game may be more inclined to leave a review than those who have more lukewarm or pleasant but not exceptional experiences. But MPL’s report is an interesting insight into player satisfaction and engagement that goes beyond download numbers.
