Open Bidding Explained: Why Game Developers Should Pay Attention
As mobile gaming continues to grow, developers are constantly searching for ways to maximize revenue without compromising player experience. One of the most impactful advancements in ad monetization over the past few years is open bidding. If you’re a game developer looking to scale sustainably, understanding how open bidding works, and why it matters, can make a significant difference in your overall earnings.
What Is Open Bidding?
Open bidding is a real-time programmatic auction model where multiple demand sources compete simultaneously for your ad impressions. Instead of using the traditional waterfall setup, where ad networks take turns bidding in a fixed order, open bidding allows every participating partner to bid at the exact same moment.
Here’s how it works in simple terms:
- A player triggers an ad request in your game.
- That request is sent to multiple demand partners at once.
- Each partner submits a bid in real time.
- The highest bid wins instantly and serves the ad.
This removes the rigid prioritization of waterfalls and replaces it with a fair, transparent, and dynamic auction environment designed to get the true market value for your impressions.
Why the Waterfall Model Isn’t Enough Anymore
The waterfall approach used to be the industry standard, but it has clear limitations:
- Ad networks bid based on their assigned priority, not on real-time value.
- Higher-paying partners may never get a chance to bid if placed lower in the stack.
- Developers spend hours adjusting price floors, orders, and performance settings.
- Latency increases when the system checks one network at a time.
As the industry becomes more competitive and data-driven, these inefficiencies translate into fewer earnings and a slower, less flexible monetization strategy.
Why Game Developers Should Care About Open Bidding
1. Higher Revenue — Consistently
Because every partner bids in real time, you get the true highest bid for each impression. That means your inventory is consistently sold at its maximum value. In many cases, developers see:
- Higher CPMs
- Increased ARPDAU
- More earnings from each ad format
This is especially impactful for rewarded video and interstitials, where user engagement is high.
2. Better Fill Rates Across All Regions
Open bidding dramatically improves your chances of filling impressions — especially in countries where certain networks are weak. With more bidders in the auction, you reduce the number of unfilled requests and enjoy stronger global monetization performance.
3. Less Manual Work and More Automation
Maintaining waterfalls is time-consuming. You have to reorder networks, test new demand sources, update price floors, and constantly monitor performance. Open bidding automates much of this work, freeing developers to:
- Focus on game design and player experience
- Spend less time on manual optimization
- Scale their monetization strategy more efficiently
4. Increased Transparency and Better Insights
With open bidding, you gain access to clearer data about how partners are bidding. This helps you:
- Understand which networks perform best
- Identify new monetization opportunities
- Make smarter decisions about demand partnerships
Instead of guessing, you have complete visibility into auction behavior.
5. Faster Ad Loading and Better Player Experience
Latency is a major issue in traditional waterfalls. When networks take turns to bid, it slows down the ad-serving process. Open bidding solves this through parallel bidding, which leads to:
- Faster ad loading
- Fewer failed impressions
- A smoother gameplay experience
And when players enjoy their experience, they engage more — which ultimately boosts revenue.
6. Ideal for Developers Who Want to Scale
As your user base grows, managing manual waterfalls becomes increasingly complex. Open bidding provides a scalable foundation that supports growth without adding operational overhead. Whether you’re launching a new title or managing a portfolio of games, open bidding helps you keep monetization efficient and future-proof.
Open bidding represents a major shift in how developers approach monetization. Instead of relying on outdated priority-based systems, game developers now have access to a fairer, smarter, and higher-performing auction model. The result? Better revenue, stronger fill rates, simpler operations, and an improved experience for players.
If you’re serious about modern game monetization, open bidding isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a must-have.
