When I started thinking about advertising in Vladers, I didn’t want ads to become part of the normal gameplay loop.

The game should still feel complete if a player never watches a single ad.

So instead of placing forced ads between matches, menus, or pack openings, I decided to use ads only as optional opportunities.

Today, Vladers has four different rewarded-ad placements. Each one gives the player something meaningful, but none of them are required to keep playing.

The idea is simple:

The ad should feel like a choice, not an interruption.

1. An Extra Daily Pack

The first placement is probably the simplest.

Players can already receive their normal daily opportunities, but if they want another pack, they can choose to watch an ad.

The reward is immediate and easy to understand:

Watch an ad → get another pack.

Because collecting cards is at the heart of Vladers, this gives the player something useful without blocking anything they would normally have access to.

If they don’t want it, they simply continue playing.

2. A Second Chance at the Daily Match Reward

The second placement is connected to the daily match.

After completing it, the player is shown three cards face down.

Behind them can be different rewards:

The player chooses one.

That is their reward.

But if they really wanted another chance, they can watch a rewarded ad and choose again.

I like this placement because the ad isn’t simply exchanging attention for currency.

There is still a small game around it.

You already made your choice.

Maybe you got something good.

Maybe you are now wondering what was behind the other two cards.

The ad gives you the opportunity to find out.

3. Replay the Daily Story Battle

The third placement is tied to one of the more unusual parts of Vladers.

I’m building special story battles where the rules of the game can change.

Instead of simply facing another normal squad, players fight against a special themed team.

The first one is an Elemental Squad.

During these battles, the match itself can behave differently from a standard Vladers game, so the player has to adapt their strategy and defeat the special squad to earn the reward.

Normally, this mode can be played once per day.

But if the player wants another attempt, they can choose to watch an ad and enter the battle again.

This is probably my favorite use of rewarded advertising in the game because the reward isn’t just another item.

The reward is another piece of gameplay.

4. Send Your Squad to Battle Again

The fourth placement is connected to a passive system called Send Squad to Battle.

As players collect cards, they naturally end up with smaller or less important cards that might not always make it into their main squad.

Instead of letting those cards sit unused, players can send a squad away to battle and potentially return with rewards.

The rewarded ad provides a second opportunity to use that system.

Again, it isn’t required.

It is simply there for the player who wants to squeeze a little more progression out of the game that day.

Why I Chose Optional Ads

The main rule I’ve tried to follow is:

Never punish the player for not watching an ad.

I don’t want Vladers to suddenly stop after every match.

I don’t want a full-screen ad appearing because you opened the wrong menu.

And I don’t want players feeling that the actual game exists mainly to push them toward advertising.

The normal gameplay is designed to remain ad-free.

Rewarded ads sit around the edges of the experience as optional extras:

Another pack.

Another reward choice.

Another special battle.

Another squad expedition.

You decide whether that extra opportunity is worth watching an ad for.

What About Players Who Don’t Want Ads at All?

I’m also working on two small subscription options.

The idea is that subscribers could receive the benefits normally attached to rewarded ads without having to watch the ads themselves.

For example, they could automatically receive second chances or additional rewarded opportunities, alongside a weekly or monthly amount of coins.

I’m currently thinking around the €3 and €5 range.

I deliberately want these subscriptions to stay small.

I don’t want Vladers to become a game where players feel pressured to spend large amounts of money just to keep up.

The subscription should feel more like:

“I play Vladers regularly, I don’t want to watch ads, and I’d like a few extra benefits.”

Not:

“I need to pay this or I can’t compete.”

What About Buying Coins?

Direct coin purchases are currently disabled during the beta.

The system already exists and can easily be brought back later, but for now I prefer testing the game without pushing players toward direct purchases.

That gives me a cleaner environment to understand:

Once the beta gives me better answers to those questions, I can decide how direct purchases should fit into the final economy.

Monetization Should Be Part of the Game Design

One thing I’ve realized while building Vladers is that monetization shouldn’t be something you add at the end.

Where an ad appears changes how the game feels.

How often an ad appears changes how the game feels.

And what you receive after watching one changes how the player thinks about that ad.

So I’ve tried to design every placement around something the player already understands and wants.

I don’t think anyone opens a football card game because they want to watch advertising.

They open it because they want to collect cards, build squads, play matches and earn rewards.

If advertising is going to exist, my goal is to make sure it supports those things rather than interrupting them.

For Vladers, that means giving the player the choice.

Play normally with no ads.

Or, when you want a little more from the game:

Take another chance.