Lagged (DAB3Games)

When Dom Bruno was in high school, he’d spend his free periods in the computer room with friends, playing his favorite Flash games. But soon the school caught up with them — and the Flash games were blocked.

“I still wanted to play of course, so I figured the best solution was to make my own Flash games,” says Dom. “And that’s how I started out creating games.”

Dom decided to turn that hobby into a business in 2016 with the launch of his web game platform Lagged. The site stood at the forefront of the shift from Flash games to HTML5 games — and soon became a home for game developers to upload their own creations.

“Many of our games are simple and aimed at casual players,” explains Dom. “A favorite of mine is Draw This 2, which is a sort of online Pictionary game. It’s a great way for people to break up the work day. If they have ten minutes here or there, they can log on and enjoy a quick break from reality.”

The games are fun and accessible, which has helped the business expand over the years. “I would say our growth has been mostly gradual,” says Dom. “Then, with people at home during the pandemic, we saw a spike around 2020 where growth was closer to 100% year over year.”

As Lagged’s user base grew, Dom wanted to find a way to monetize the site and turn it into a sustainable business. Dom decided to try out the Beta for H5 games ads on AdSense, which makes it easy to quickly integrate premium ad options.

Implementing H5 game ads was simple — and in just a short period of time, the platform has become 100% ad-driven thanks to AdSense. Rewarded Ads have been a particularly lucrative format for Dom’s site. This type of AdSense Format enables users to watch a video or engage with a playable ad in exchange for a reward within the app. For instance, a player might watch an ad in exchange for an “extra life” within the game.

Dom’s satisfied with the way ads integrate into games without getting in the way of users’ enjoyment. “I’ve always felt like ads are the best way to monetize games,” says Dom. “They’re such a key part of the online game ecosystem and make it easier for developers to launch simple free-to-play web games.”

But the ad-supported model isn’t just a boon for Dom — it’s also paying off for the developers who upload games to Lagged. The site works on a revenue-sharing model, so that all developers get a cut of the site’s income. Best of all, developers get paid promptly: “My favorite part of AdSense is the quick payments. Our developers get paid in a matter of weeks, not a matter of months. I think that's a main advantage and why we’re 100% AdSense right now.”

Such a strong ad model through AdSense is attracting more developers on the platform.

Today over a hundred developers are earning money uploading games to Lagged — and the number of games on the platform has swelled from 4,000 to 6,000 since launching their ad model.

While engagement retention is always the top goal, the recent expansion of Lagged is pushing Dom toward more global ambitions. Roughly 90% of the Lagged audience is English speaking — so Dom sees an opportunity to tap into international markets and reach more gamers in more places.

“We’re looking to create more games that don’t rely on text screens or characters speaking,” explains Dom. “This way, the game is accessible regardless of the user’s language.”

Among Lagged’s current English-speaking users, the demographics are diverse. There’s a nearly even split between men and women — and gamers of all ages. For instance, Dom recently heard from an 80-year player who had some questions about the site’s Solitaire game. “It’s always nice to realize gamers of all ages are enjoying our site,” says Dom.

As the network expands and Lagged tries to reach new markets, Dom feels optimistic about the future of web games. “I think the quality of web games goes up over time. More talented developers are choosing to spend their time on web games. And as mobile browsers get better and better, the future really is looking bright.”