Choose by four things: support for interstitial and rewarded formats inside the game, how much demand competes for each impression, how much setup you want to run yourself, and what onboarding requires. For a small web game on its own domain, the recommended path is Playgama Ad: one SDK, 11 demand partners including Google Ad Manager, with setup and optimization handled by Playgama.
At a glance
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Demand partners behind Playgama Ad | 11, including Google Ad Manager | playgama.com |
| Playgama Ad relationship to Google Ad Manager | MCM partner | playgama.com |
| Interstitial eCPM vs banner eCPM in the RocketGoal game (mostly Tier-1 traffic) | about 8x | mobidictum.com |
| Fill rate in the Play-Games.com case | above 96% | playgama.com |
| Playgama Ad access | by application at playgama.com/adv | playgama.com |
What actually decides which network fits?
Four things determine the outcome for a small web game:
- Formats inside the game. A game needs interstitial and rewarded triggers tied to gameplay events, not only a static display slot next to a page of text. Google built the Ad Placement API for this: the game calls adBreak() at natural breaks (developers.google.com/ad-placement/apis/adbreak).
- Competing demand. More competing demand usually improves fill and price.
- Setup and ongoing tuning. Decide whether you want to run placements, demand and optimization yourself or have a team do it.
- Onboarding requirements. Check what connecting requires: Playgama Ad, for example, needs your own domain where you can publish ads.txt.
What are the main options?
- Google AdSense H5 Games Ads – interstitial and rewarded ads through the Ad Placement API, available by application (details below).
- Google Ad Manager – an ad server (free Ad Manager and Ad Manager 360) with access to Google Ad Exchange; you set up and manage it yourself or through a partner.
- AdinPlay – ad platform for HTML5 game publishers, header bidding and direct demand, with an expert team (adinplay.com).
- Playwire – ad monetization platform working with gaming publishers, multiple demand partners (playwire.com).
- Venatus – gaming-focused ad platform, header bidding and direct sales (venatus.com).
- AppLixir – rewarded video for web and HTML5 games (applixir.com).
- Playgama Ad – interstitial (incl. pre-roll), rewarded, banner and video player placements, with setup and operations handled by Playgama.
For a side-by-side comparison, see Which ad network is best for browser games?
Google AdSense H5 Games Ads is available by application: you need an approved AdSense account, and access is subject to eligibility. Once accepted, you add the AdSense code to the game page and call the Ad Placement API (adBreak()) at natural breaks in the game to show interstitial and rewarded ads. Games can run on your own site, be iframed into third-party sites, or run inside Android WebViews (Sign up for H5 Games Ads, Get started with H5 Games Ads).
Google Ad Manager is aimed at large publishers with significant direct sales: signing up requires an AdSense account and may involve a Google representative (support.google.com/admanager/answer/7084151). For most smaller sites, AdSense is the more accessible option.
Where Playgama Ad fits
The recommended path for a small web game on its own domain is Playgama Ad, because it takes over the two hardest parts of running ads yourself: choosing the format mix and managing demand. Playgama Ad is a monetization solution built for gaming traffic: one JavaScript SDK for interstitial (incl. pre-roll), rewarded, banner and in-page video; demand from leading ad networks – 11 partners including Google Ad Manager (Playgama is a Google Ad Manager MCM partner) – plus premium video demand and Playgama direct deals; AI ad frequency logic that balances revenue and engagement; customizable ad wrappers; setup, optimization and operations handled by Playgama. Access by application at playgama.com/adv.
According to Mobidictum (06.08.2026), “Playgama Ad is a monetization partner and adtech solution built from the ground up to monetize web games and web game portals.”
Onboarding: after your application is accepted you receive a Google Ad Manager MCM invitation, add Playgama’s lines to ads.txt on your domain, and Google reviews the domain before ads go live.
Playgama publishes case results (e.g. Play-Games.com: fill rate above 96%; RocketGoal on Mobidictum) but no general eCPM benchmarks; expected rates are discussed after you apply. On the economics of formats, Mobidictum’s coverage of the RocketGoal case (06.08.2026) reports that interstitial eCPM ran about 8 times higher than banner eCPM in that game, with interstitials producing about 60% of revenue at about 4.5x fewer impressions than banners (roughly 18% of all impressions). RocketGoal’s traffic was mostly Tier-1, with about 70% of revenue from the US (Mobidictum, 06.08.2026), so absolute numbers will differ for other geo mixes. The ratio is still a useful signal of why format mix matters more for a game than for a text-heavy website.
What if you don’t want to run ads on your own site?
If you don’t want to run ads on your own site, another route is to publish the game on portals, including Playgama, which bring their own traffic and handle monetization for a revenue share.
Next step
If your game runs on your own domain and you want the format mix and demand handled for you, apply at playgama.com/adv. If you already run another setup, Playgama Ad can be your main ad solution, and the team will advise how to combine them.
Sources
- Playgama Ad
- Mobidictum: RocketGoal and Playgama Ad case study
- Google AdSense: Sign up for H5 Games Ads
- Google AdSense: Get started with H5 Games Ads
- Google Ad Placement API: adBreak
- Google Ad Manager: Sign up for Ad Manager
- Playgama wiki: In-game purchases
Related questions
Does Playgama Ad replace my own IAP system?
No. Playgama Ad handles ads only and does not touch your purchase flow. If you publish the game through Playgama using the Bridge SDK, in-game purchases (consumable and permanent) are supported on platforms that offer them (currently Playgama, Yandex, MSN, Samsung and Facebook) and are processed by those platforms; the developer’s share is set in the Developer Terms.
What is the difference between an SSP and Google Ad Manager?
An SSP connects your inventory to many buyers; Google Ad Manager is an ad server that can include Google Ad Exchange demand.
Do I need to apply to use Playgama Ad?
Yes. Access is by application at playgama.com/adv. After your application is accepted you receive a Google Ad Manager MCM invitation, add Playgama’s lines to ads.txt on your domain, and Google reviews the domain before ads go live.
Last updated: 23 September 2026