Guides / How Mobile Games Work
Rewarded vs Interstitial Ads: What You See in Mobile Games and Why
ONI Games · Published
Rewarded ads are the ones you choose to watch for a prize. Interstitials interrupt you at a break. How each format works, what Google allows, the limits a developer can set, and how to see fewer ads.
A rewarded ad is one you choose to watch in exchange for something in the game, like double gold. An interstitial ad is a full-screen ad the game shows you at a break, whether you want it or not, and you can close it after a few seconds. Both pay the developer, but they feel completely different, and a good game uses them very differently.
Rule of thumb: rewarded ads are a deal you accept. Interstitials are a cost of playing for free. A fair game gives you plenty of the first and few of the second.
The ad formats in mobile games
| Format | When you see it | Your choice | Typical reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewarded video | when you tap a button like Watch for x2 | yes, fully optional | currency, double income, a revive |
| Interstitial | at a break: after a level, when closing a menu | no, you can only close it | none |
| Rewarded interstitial | at a break, with a reward offered first | you can skip it before it starts | a small bonus |
| Banner | a strip on the screen while you play | no | none |
| App open ad | when you return to the app | no | none |
Most free games use rewarded videos and interstitials, and some add banners. In our study of 847 idle games, 88% carried Google Play's Contains ads label, and the label does not say which formats a game uses. Reviews usually do.
What rewarded ads are for
Rewarded ads work because both sides get something. You get a boost, the developer earns from a player who might never buy anything, and nobody is interrupted. In idle games they are everywhere: double offline earnings, a free chest, faster production for a few minutes.
In our own games you will find them in places like these: Idle Ronin offers WATCH VIDEO FOR 2X GOLD on the offline income screen, and Idle AI Factory offers five times the offline earnings for a video. One of Idle Ronin's six daily quests is "Watch 2 videos" for 30 diamonds, which is about as honest as a quest gets.
The catch is balance. If a game is tuned so that progress without rewarded videos feels too slow, they stop being optional in practice. A good test: play a day without them. If the game still feels fair, they are a real choice.
Why games use interstitial ads
Most players never tap a rewarded button, and most never buy anything. Interstitials are how a free game earns something from them. That is the whole reason, and it is also why they are the format players hate most: they take time you did not offer.
Google limits how they can be used. Its Play policy does not allow full-screen interstitials that show unexpectedly while you are trying to do something else, ads at the beginning of a level or during the start of a content segment, or full-screen interstitials that cannot be closed after 15 seconds. Rewarded ads that you explicitly opt into are exempt.
How developers limit interstitials
Inside those rules, every developer chooses how often interstitials appear. These are the limits in our games, straight from the code:
- Idle Ronin: its ad code allows no interstitial in the first 3 minutes of a session, at least 3 minutes between two, and at most 5 per session. In practice it now shows none at all: the only forced ad sat at boss fights, first on the retry button, where a player stuck on a boss got an ad for every try, then after beaten bosses, and we switched it off. The game earns from its shop, optional reward videos and a banner in some menus.
- Idle AI Factory: interstitials only appear when you close a menu, never in the first 2 minutes, at least 3 minutes apart, and only after the first factory levels. Watching a rewarded video resets that timer, so a player who chooses ads sees fewer forced ones.
- Both games: buying No Ads (Idle Ronin) or the Mega Bundle (Idle AI Factory) switches interstitials off completely.
In Idle AI Factory these timings come from a remote setting, so we can make ads rarer without releasing an update. That is common in the industry: when a game suddenly shows more or fewer ads without an update, that is usually why.
How to see fewer ads in mobile games
- Buy the no-ads option if you play a game daily. It is usually a one-time purchase tied to your Google account.
- Use rewarded videos on purpose. Some games, like Idle AI Factory, push the next interstitial back when you watch one.
- Play offline games offline. Ads need a connection, so a game that works in airplane mode usually shows none there. Online features, daily rewards and cloud saves may stop working too.
- Choose games with fewer ads from the start. Look for games without the Contains ads label, or read recent reviews for words like forced ads. Our lists of Android games with no ads and idle games without forced ads are a starting point.
- Report ads that break the rules. An interstitial that cannot be closed or appears in the middle of play goes against Google's policy. You can report the app from its Google Play page.
FAQ
Are rewarded ads optional?
Yes, by definition: you tap a button to start one. Whether the game is fun without them is another question, and a fair game makes them a bonus, not a requirement.
Why do some games show an ad after every level?
Because interstitials earn money from players who do not pay or watch rewarded ads. How often they appear is the developer's choice, within Google's rules.
Can a game show ads when I have no internet?
Normally no. Ads are downloaded when they are shown, so without a connection there is nothing to show.
Does No Ads remove rewarded videos?
Usually not, because they are optional and players use them for rewards. Some games give the reward without the video after you buy No Ads; check the description of the purchase.
Sources
- Google, Ads policy, Google Play Developer Policy Center.
- ONI Games code: Idle Ronin (Admobs.cs, OniFirebase.cs, LiveOps.cs) and Idle AI Factory (Interstitials.cs), September 2026.
- ONI Games, Idle games on Google Play in 2026.
