Scaling quality: Mistplay outperforms rewarded channels by 30% for Ant Legion in South Korea

Founded in 2012 in Guangzhou, China, 37Games is a global mobile gaming brand under 37 Interactive Entertainment. With distribution in more than 200 countries and regions, the studio has built a reputation for delivering exciting, engaging titles across genres. Its portfolio includes both self-developed and licensed games such as Puzzles & Survival, Trading Legend, Puzzles & Chaos, Soul Land: Soul Hunting World, MU: Dark Epoch, and The Epoch of Eternity.

One of its standout successes is Ant Legion: For The Swarm, a multiplayer strategy game where players lead an ant colony, gather resources, upgrade their Queen, and expand an underground empire. Released in 2022, the game has surpassed 34 million downloads worldwide and consistently ranks among the top 10 free strategy games on South Korea’s Google Play store.

*Source: SensorTower, by 2025.8

The challenge: Reach high-quality spenders

Like many strategy games, Ant Legion monetizes through in-app purchases (IAP). As they looked to expand into the Korean market, they needed user acquisition channels that could deliver not just volume, but also high-quality, high-spending players.

Since 2020, Mistplay has partnered with 37Games to drive the growth of multiple titles —including Puzzles & Survival and Puzzles & Chaos—resulting in strong results in both IAP and ROAS. Mistplay's proven track record made the decision to utilize Mistplay in 37Games effort to expand to the Korean market a natural fit.

The solution: AI engine and LiveOps bring scale and quality

As the leading loyalty program for mobile gamers, Mistplay has built a strong presence in South Korea over the past several years. Leveraging its play-and-earn incentive model, Mistplay provides user acquisition that delivers long-term value for 37Games. By leveraging IAP tROAS optimization powered by the Helios AI Engine, Mistplay campaigns precisely match and automatically bid based on player interests and purchase potential. 

The Mistplay platform drives engagement through specific publisher goals including: LiveOps tailored to each game and players and hosts special events  that further enhance player activity.

The results

With the help of Mistplay's 10th anniversary promotions and optimization by their client team, Ant Legion saw strong performance on installs, ROAS and spenders acquired:  In June, Mistplay achieved:

• 200% increase in month-over-month installs
• 10% higher D14 ROAS over other rewarded partners
• 30% higher D30 ROAS over other rewarded partners

In addition to this Mistplay was also the source of over 20% of their total spenders, including 26% of their high-value spenders* and 50% of their highest-value spenders**.

*over $100/month on IAP

**over $1,000/month on IAP

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"Ant Legion achieved great success in South Korea through our collaboration with Mistplay. Thanks to tROAS optimized campaigns and the volume boost from Mistplay’s tenth anniversary promotions, we were able to significantly increase our scale while meeting cost and ROAS targets. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Mistplay in South Korea and expanding into new markets , to deliver an excellent gaming experience to players." — Della Lee, Head of User Acquisition Team at 37Games

Scale your UA across the globe with Mistplay

If you’re a mobile game publisher looking to acquire high-value users and expand into new markets like 37Games, then Mistplay is here to help. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can work together to unlock the power of player loyalty and drive growth in your games.