IronSource — what it is, monetization platform and SDK

What Is IronSource?

IronSource is an Israeli monetization platform founded in 2010 by Tomer Bar-Ziv, and since 2022 it has been part of Unity Technologies. The Unity acquisition cost $4.4 billion and united the Unity engine with IronSource’s ad infrastructure. The platform serves over 90% of the top 100 games in app stores.

The IronSource ecosystem includes an SDK for developers, the LevelPlay mediator, a user acquisition (UA) management platform, and ROAS analytics. After the Unity integration, developers gained a single dashboard for creating, monetizing, and promoting their games without switching between services.

According to the Unity IR Report 2025, publishers using IronSource show 35% better retention within 7 days after install compared to apps without monetization optimization.

After the Unity deal, IronSource gained access to over 2 million Unity developers worldwide. Integrating monetization directly into the game engine eliminates the need to switch between dashboards: configuring ad formats, mediation, and analytics is available directly in the Unity Editor without writing additional code. This lowers the entry barrier for indie developers and small studios who want to start earning from their projects without hiring ad technology specialists.

How IronSource Monetization Works

Monetization through IronSource is built on two parallel mechanisms: direct impressions through the IronSource ad network and mediation through LevelPlay. The developer integrates a single SDK that automatically routes each impression request either to the IronSource network or to connected third-party networks via auction.

In-App Bidding in IronSource

In-app bidding is available in LevelPlay alongside traditional waterfall. The auction format is selected at the ad unit level — each ad placement can have its own strategy. IronSource supports bidding from Google, Meta, TikTok, AppLovin, and Vungle, covering the main demand sources.

Unity Integration

The main advantage of IronSource after the Unity deal is full integration into Unity Editor. Developers can configure monetization directly in the IDE without switching to a web dashboard. The C# SDK is wrapped in a Unity adapter and supports all native SDK features without writing platform-specific code.

The ad display process through IronSource begins with loading creatives in the background. The IronSource SDK preloads video files and static creatives at app startup, ensuring instant display on developer request. Each request goes through LevelPlay, which determines which network will show the ad: IronSource Network or one of the connected partner networks via waterfall or in-app bidding. The SDK also handles load errors and automatically switches to backup sources if the primary network does not respond within a specified timeout.

// Initializing IronSource SDK in Android
class GameActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_game)

        // Initialization with AppKey from IronSource dashboard
        IronSource.init(this, "YOUR_APP_KEY")
    }

    // Loading rewarded video
    private fun loadRewardedVideo() {
        IronSource.setRewardedVideoListener(object : RewardedVideoListener {
            override fun onVideoAvailable() {
                println("Video reward available")
            }
            override fun onVideoEnd() {
                println("Video completed, grant reward")
            }
        })
        IronSource.loadRewardedVideo()
    }
}

IronSource Ad Formats

IronSource SDK offers four standard formats optimized for gaming and non-gaming apps. Each format has flexible behavior settings: frequency capping, timeouts, animations, and custom placeholders.

Rewarded Video

Rewarded video is IronSource’s flagship format, generating up to 70% of the platform’s revenue. The developer configures the reward (coins, lives, boosts), and IronSource’s algorithms optimize the frequency and timing of display for maximum view-to-revenue conversion.

Interstitial

Interstitial ads are shown during pauses between levels or gaming sessions. IronSource recommends not exceeding 10 interstitial impressions per day per user to avoid negative experience and user churn.

Banners

Banners in IronSource support adaptive sizes and can be anchored at the top or bottom of the screen. For Unity games, banners should be placed outside the gameplay area to avoid covering the game and reducing retention. Banners automatically refresh every 30 seconds, and the developer can configure the refresh rate and background transparency through the LevelPlay dashboard for seamless integration into the app interface.

Offerwall

Offerwall is a unique IronSource format that presents a task feed with a list of actions (installing apps, subscribing to services, completing surveys). The user selects a task, completes it, and receives virtual currency. Offerwall is especially effective for hyper-casual games with short sessions.

For each format, IronSource provides extensive customization options: colors, fonts, button positions, entry and exit animations. The developer can configure format behavior for different app screens independently: for example, show interstitials only on the level completion screen, rewarded video only from the store, and banners only in the menu. This segmentation allows maximizing revenue without degrading the user experience. IronSource also supports custom callbacks for reward distribution and event tracking in the developer’s own analytics.

Integrating the IronSource SDK into Your Project

Integrating the IronSource SDK begins with registering the app in the Unity Ads / IronSource dashboard and obtaining a unique AppKey. The SDK is distributed via Maven Central and Unity Package Manager.

// build.gradle (app)
dependencies {
    implementation("com.unity3d.ads-mediation:unity-ads:4.12.0")
    implementation("com.ironsource.sdk:ironsource:8.5.0")
}

// AndroidManifest.xml — must specify AppKey
// <meta-data
//     android:name="ironsource_app_key"
//     android:value="YOUR_APP_KEY" />

// Showing rewarded video with custom reward
fun showReward(context: Context, rewardAmount: Int) {
    if (IronSource.isRewardedVideoAvailable()) {
        IronSource.showRewardedVideo()
        println("Reward will be $rewardAmount coins")
    }
}

After SDK integration, it automatically collects analytics on impressions, revenue, and user behavior. The IronSource Dashboard shows ARPDAU, eCPM by format and network, retention curves, and ROAS by ad campaigns for informed monetization decisions.

IronSource also provides user acquisition (UA) tools through its own ad network. Developers can run install campaigns directly from the same dashboard where they see monetization revenue. A unified dashboard for UA and monetization allows optimizing the acquisition budget in real time: if users from a certain channel show low LTV, IronSource automatically lowers bids for that channel and reallocates the budget to more profitable sources. This full analytics integration makes IronSource attractive for studios with limited marketing budgets, where every dollar spent on acquisition must deliver maximum return.

LevelPlay: Mediation and In-App Bidding

LevelPlay is IronSource’s ad mediation solution that brings together over 30 ad networks. LevelPlay supports both waterfall and in-app bidding, allowing the developer to choose a strategy for each ad unit individually. The system automatically tests new configurations and suggests optimal settings based on machine learning.

The key difference of LevelPlay from competitors is built-in A/B testing of configurations. The developer can run an experiment: 50% of users see waterfall, 50% see in-app bidding. After 7 days, LevelPlay will show which strategy generates more revenue and automatically apply the winner without manual deployment.

According to GameRefinery 2025 benchmarks, apps on LevelPlay with in-app bidding show 22% higher eCPM compared to apps with pure waterfall, while retention remains at the same level thanks to intelligent frequency capping.

LevelPlay also provides tools for automatic optimization: the system analyzes the effectiveness of each network and ad unit and suggests the optimal mediation configuration. If a network shows a decline in eCPM, LevelPlay automatically reduces its share in the waterfall or removes it from the auction. All changes are logged in the audit panel, allowing the developer to track every change in monetization settings. Additionally, LevelPlay supports custom macros in URL requests and postbacks, allowing additional user parameters to be passed to ad networks for better targeting and higher bids. This is especially useful for complex configurations with dynamic pricing and user cohort segmentation.