The holiday season is brutal for mobile game User Acquisition. While e-commerce brands dump millions into ads to capture last-minute shoppers, game studios face skyrocketing CPMs, distracted players, and razor-thin margins. 

We sat down with Magda Zaręba, Upptic’s Senior UA Strategy Lead, to get the real strategy behind holiday UA timing. Magda works directly with gaming clients to navigate seasonal volatility, manage budget allocation, and identify exactly when to pull back versus when to scale aggressively. Here’s what she had to say:


What happens to ad costs from early December through Christmas and then right after December 25?

The holiday season creates a predictable rollercoaster for UA costs. CPMs start climbing in November and hit their peak during the first two weeks of December. This is when e-commerce businesses are fighting hardest for consumer attention before the holiday shopping deadline.

The good news? CPMs start declining after that peak and reach their lowest point around Christmas Eve. However, the timing varies by channel. TikTok’s “Q5” (their post-holiday sweet spot) begins as early as December 8th when major Chinese e-commerce platforms pull back on ad spend. For other channels like DSPs, Google, and Meta, you’ll see costs drop around December 20-22.

During the December crunch, CPIs spike significantly and finding high-value users becomes much more challenging. Maintaining ROAS-positive results at your typical spend levels? Nearly impossible without a strategic adjustment.

 

Do you have any holiday “do this” / “don’t do that” budget allocation tips?

❌  DON’T:

  • Scale UA in November. This is when the storm clouds are gathering.
  • Maintain your usual spend during the first three weeks of December.
  • Panic and make emotional decisions when you see short-term drops.

✅  DO:

  • Keep spend stable or reduce it in November.
  • Decrease spend significantly during the first three weeks of December.
  • Preserve your best-performing campaigns on a limited scale.
  • Keep campaigns with long learning periods (like Google and DSPs) running, but cap their daily spend.
  • Plan ahead to ramp up around December 20-22.
  • Take full advantage of Q5 by scaling aggressively in the last 10 days of December.
  • Continue that momentum into January and, if budget allows, February.

 

Think of it like this: save your ammunition for when the battlefield clears and costs plummet.

 

Does player behavior change during this time of year?

Absolutely! And understanding these shifts is crucial for setting realistic expectations. During December, players are less engaged across the board:

  • Time in-game drops: Users spend less time playing as they’re distracted by holiday shopping, cooking, and preparations
  • Retention takes a hit: Day 14 retention can drop by as much as 15% compared to previous months
  • Spending decreases: Conversion to purchase drops 10-15% on day 14 in December, most likely due to players are saving their money for gifts, not in-app purchases

But here’s the silver lining: these changes completely reverse after Christmas. Players receive new phones as gifts, have more free time, and suddenly you’re looking at the best period of the year for mobile gaming with lowest CPIs, highest retention rates, and peak user engagement. The post-holiday surge is real and worth planning for.

 

For a game studio with a limited budget, what are the smartest ways to time UA around Q4 & Q5?

When your budget is tight, strategy becomes everything:

  1. Pull back early: Minimize spend in November and especially during the first three weeks of December. Don’t try to compete with deep-pocketed e-commerce giants.
  2. Keep your winners alive: Maintain only your best-performing campaigns during the expensive period, creating quality over quantity. This ensures you’re not completely dark but you’re not hemorrhaging budget either.
  3. Protect your long-term investments: Keep Google and DSP campaigns running with reduced daily caps. These platforms have lengthy learning periods, and pausing them completely means starting from scratch in January.
  4. Time your offensive: Build a concrete plan to scale starting December 20-22, when CPMs hit their annual low. This is your moment to capture high-value users at bargain prices.
  5. Ride the wave: Continue aggressive spending through January and, if budget permits, into February. This extended Q5 period offers the best ROI of the entire year, so don’t cut it short.

 

Timing your UA spend shouldn’t be guesswork. If you need a team that knows exactly when to pull back and when to push the gas, book a demo with us today.

 

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