Start with the game’s economics.
An IAA game earns value when people play, return and engage with the product’s monetization experience. An install target is useful, but it does not describe the whole business objective.
Before planning media, agree which user outcomes the test should help evaluate. Select the events and review windows that can answer the team’s question with the available data.
Give creative a specific job.
Choose the interaction the creative should communicate. Is the appeal a quick challenge, a satisfying action or an accessible puzzle? Make the first impression recognizable in the actual game.
Keep a record of the concept behind each variant. That makes a creative review more useful than a list of filenames ranked by clicks. A strong hook still needs to attract the audience that fits the product.
Separate acquisition from quality.
Xiaomi’s gaming guide discusses both acquisition scale and post-install quality, including retention and revenue-related outcomes. That distinction is useful for framing a media review.
If delivery grows, ask what changed in the composition of users. If an early return looks weaker, check whether the newer cohorts have had enough time to generate comparable value. Avoid collapsing every question into a single headline metric.
Compare cohorts at the same age.
Decide when a cohort is ready to review for the chosen outcome. If one group has had a longer observation period than another, its cumulative value is not a like-for-like comparison.
Use a consistent age and record changes to countries, creatives, bids or placement mix. The goal is a decision the team can explain: continue the test, change one variable or investigate before spending more.
What changed? What do we know? What remains uncertain? What is the next action?
Turn the review into the next test.
Give each next step an owner and a reason. A new creative concept, a narrower market test and a corrected destination path address different problems.
Trendmax connects OEM media planning with this operating rhythm, keeping the game’s objectives visible from launch coordination through the next campaign decision.
Further reading
Xiaomi game launch guide ↗Xiaomi ROAS product guide ↗Platform requirements can change. Confirm the current implementation with the app owner and platform documentation.