Editorial Review by TopAdNetworks
Unity LevelPlay deserves to be reviewed as a modern Unity product, not just as legacy ironSource mediation with a new logo.
In 2026, Unity is clearly positioning LevelPlay as its central mediation and monetization workflow for mobile apps, with official docs and migration guidance pushing publishers toward the Ads Mediation package rather than older direct Unity Ads integration.
The biggest reason LevelPlay remains relevant is that it gives publishers more control than single-network monetization. The platform combines real-time bidding, waterfall management, manual priority controls for flat-rate deals, segmentation, capping, pacing, ad-unit level testing, and a unified auction across major SDK networks and bidders. That combination is especially useful for studios that care about yield management and not just basic fill.
What makes the current product even more important is Unity’s ongoing cleanup of its older ad stack. Unity has stated that apps still using the Advertisement Legacy Package may see reduced ad performance from April 1, 2026, and it will separately sunset the direct demand business of the IronSource Ads network on April 30, 2026.
At the same time, Unity explicitly states that LevelPlay mediation remains unaffected and continues to serve as its core, neutral mediation platform. That is a strong signal about where the company wants mobile monetization customers to be.
The platform’s reporting layer is another genuine differentiator. LevelPlay’s real-time pivot can slice data across mediation, exchange, and direct deals, while A/B testing reports include app-level retention and ARPU.
Unity also says real-time revenue for non-bidding demand sources is generally accurate within ±3 % of the revenue later shown in LevelPlay, which is a meaningful operational benefit when you are making fast monetization decisions.
Company Overview
Unity LevelPlay started as part of ironSource’s monetization stack, and ironSource itself says in its SEC filing that the business was founded in 2010 and incorporated in Israel in 2011. Unity announced its merger agreement with ironSource in July 2022 and completed the deal on November 7, 2022, bringing ironSource’s mediation and publishing technology into Unity’s broader build, grow, and monetize product strategy.
Today, LevelPlay is documented as Unity’s mediation platform for optimizing ad revenue, supporting rewarded, interstitial, banner, MREC, and native monetization workflows.
LevelPlay also goes well beyond mediation ranking. The platform includes performance reports, real-time pivot, cohort tools, A/B testing, API authentication, a reporting API, and an impression-level revenue server-side API.
Ad Quality adds another control layer by letting publishers inspect creatives, trace user complaint timelines, block bad ads faster, and monitor churn-linked creatives. Unity also says Ad Quality is free and available even to publishers using other mediation platforms, which is unusually open for this part of ad tech.
How The Platform Works
Unity LevelPlay works as a mediation and monetization control layer for mobile publishers. A developer creates a LevelPlay account, adds an app, integrates the SDK, activates ad units, and connects mediated ad networks through the dashboard. Once that is live, the platform can route demand through real-time bidding, waterfall setups, or hybrid strategies depending on the publisher’s stack and optimization goals. Unity’s own docs describe the system as a combination of in-app bidding, waterfall management, comprehensive reporting, and auto optimization based on real-time eCPM trends.
On the demand side, advertisers typically do not buy “through LevelPlay” as a standalone UI, as publishers do. Instead, they usually access supply through Unity Ads user acquisition, the ironSource Exchange, or other mediated SDK demand sources that participate in the LevelPlay auction. That makes LevelPlay primarily a publisher and app developer product, even though advertiser demand is what funds the auction.
Once the app is connected, publishers can track revenue, eCPM, impressions, sessions, and user engagement in performance reports, run A/B tests, schedule report exports, and access monetization data through APIs. For deeper troubleshooting, Unity provides an integration test suite that verifies SDK setup, checks adapters, shows whether each network is bidding or non-bidding, and works with LevelPlay SDK version 7.3.0 and above.
Advertiser Onboarding
- Create a Unity ID and set up the Unity Ads User Acquisition dashboard for the app you want to promote.
- Add your app using its store ID or bundle ID.
- Fund the organization budget. Unity says credit card and third-party deposits start at $1,000 USD, and deposits above $10,000 USD require an account manager.
- Create an install or ROAS campaign, upload creatives, apply targeting, and launch from the Unity Ads dashboard.
Ad Formats And Placement
- Rewarded ads
- Interstitial ads
- Banner and MREC ads
- Native ads
- Playable creatives, typically delivered inside interstitial-style experiences
Targeting And Optimization
- User segments
- Placements by ad location
- Capping and pacing controls
- Bid floors and price-floor settings
- In-app bidding and waterfall management
- Manual priority for flat-rate eCPM deals
- A/B testing and real-time pivot optimization
Key Differentiators
Unity LevelPlay stands out because it is not pitched as a closed network that asks publishers to hand over control. It is positioned instead as an open mediation layer within a broader Unity growth stack, making it especially attractive to app publishers seeking tooling depth, auction control, and operational reporting in one place.
1. Open Mediation with a Unified Auction
Unity’s product page emphasizes a unified auction across leading SDK networks and bidders, while LevelPlay remains Unity’s core, open, neutral mediation platform. That is one of the clearest product-positioning statements Unity has made since the ironSource merger.
2. Tight Unity Workflow Integration
LevelPlay can be integrated directly from the Unity Editor, and Unity now recommends LevelPlay’s Ads Mediation package as the best-practice path for apps that previously relied on direct Unity Ads integration. That makes it unusually convenient for game teams already building inside the Unity ecosystem.
3. Strong Reporting and Experiment Tooling
Real-time pivot, performance reports, A/B testing, and API access are all first-class parts of the platform. Unity also says A/B tests include app-level retention and ARPU, and that real-time revenue from non-bidding sources is typically within ±3 of the later finalized LevelPlay revenue.
4. Ad Quality as a Real Control Layer
Ad Quality is more than a brand-safety checkbox. Unity says it is free for all publishers, can flag problematic creatives with AI, trace what ads a user actually saw, and help identify creatives linked to churn. That makes it a meaningful operational advantage, especially for game studios protecting user experience and store ratings.
Ideal Use Cases
Unity LevelPlay works best for mobile publishers seeking open mediation, stronger rewarded video performance, and greater control than a single-network monetization setup can offer.
- Mobile game mediation and hybrid monetization
- Rewarded video and interstitial revenue optimization
- Migrating from legacy Unity Ads direct integration to open mediation
- Studios that need A/B testing, reporting APIs, and creative-quality controls
- App publishers running both monetization and ROAS-focused user acquisition in the Unity ecosystem
Target Clients
Advertisers
Unity LevelPlay is relevant to advertisers mainly through the demand that flows into the auction, especially app marketers, mobile gaming studios, and growth teams using Unity Ads install and ROAS campaigns. These buyers use Unity’s user acquisition dashboard to find higher-value users at scale, while LevelPlay acts as the monetized app inventory layer on the supply side.
Publishers
Publishers are the main customers for Unity LevelPlay. The platform is built primarily for mobile game studios and app publishers that want to mediate multiple ad networks, manage bidding and waterfalls, monitor performance in real time, and fine-tune the in-app ad experience with tools such as A/B testing and Ad Quality.
Pricing & Business Model
Unity LevelPlay’s business model is rooted in app monetization rather than a simple software subscription pitch.
Publishers integrate the SDK, connect demand sources, and monetize impressions through a mix of bidders, waterfalls, exchange demand, and, in some cases, direct deals.
On the advertiser side, demand can come from Unity Ads user acquisition campaigns and other mediated networks competing for the same inventory.
Pricing and revenue outcomes depend on standard mobile monetization factors, such as platform, region, player demographics, ad placement, and user engagement. Unity’s support documentation says the average eCPM depends on those factors, while its reporting stack tracks revenue, impressions, eCPM, fill rate, retention, ROAS, ad revenue, in-app purchases, and event engagement.
From a payment perspective, Unity says publishers receive automated payouts for Unity Ads earnings every month, processed on a net 60-day USD cadence, provided earnings meet the minimum payout amount. For advertisers using Unity Ads budgets, funding is prepaid, and the minimum deposit for credit card and third-party payment platforms is $1,000 USD.
Pricing Structure
- CPM: Core pricing model for impression-based monetization and reporting across mediated inventory.
- CPV: Unity says some campaign types bill on completed views, which is especially relevant for rewarded and video-heavy placements.
- CPC: Unity says some campaigns bill on clicks.
- CPI: Unity documentation says standard Unity Ads user acquisition campaigns use CPI billing by default.
Minimum Spend
- Self-Serve: Unity does not publish a spend minimum for publishers integrating LevelPlay, but advertiser budgets on Unity Ads require a minimum deposit of $1,000 USD for credit cards and third-party payment platforms. Unity also says deposits above $10,000 USD should go through an account manager.
- Managed: Managed advertisers can work through dedicated account managers or client partners, especially for larger budgets, migration help, and transition support tied to Unity Ads or former ironSource Ads accounts.