What Chartboost is, how its mobile ad mediation and monetization platform works, its ownership history from Zynga to Take-Two to LoopMe, and key features.
At its core, Chartboost is an SDK that mobile game developers integrate into their apps to serve interstitial, rewarded-video, and banner ads, with a mediation layer that runs real-time auctions between multiple demand sources to maximize the price paid for each ad impression. On the demand side, Chartboost also operates its own DSP so advertisers (often other game studios looking to acquire new players through cross-promotion) can bid directly for inventory across Chartboost's publisher network. This dual-sided model, common among mobile adtech companies, lets Chartboost act simultaneously as a monetization partner for publishers and a user-acquisition channel for advertisers, historically processing tens of billions of programmatic auctions each month across a network of hundreds of millions of monthly active users.
Chartboost's ownership has shifted twice in a few years. Zynga acquired Chartboost in 2021 for about 250 million dollars, aiming to bring first-party advertising infrastructure in-house to complement its game portfolio. Less than a year later, Take-Two Interactive Software agreed to acquire Zynga in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly 12.7 billion dollars, a transaction that closed in May 2022, bringing Chartboost under Take-Two's umbrella as an adtech division. By late 2024, reports emerged that Take-Two was in discussions to divest Chartboost so it could concentrate resources on premium console and PC game development rather than mobile advertising technology. That divestiture concluded in December 2024, when mobile brand-advertising company LoopMe announced its acquisition of Chartboost from Zynga/Take-Two, with terms not publicly disclosed. Under LoopMe, Chartboost is positioned to extend brand-advertising reach into mobile app inventory, a different strategic emphasis than its prior owners' focus on game-to-game user acquisition.
As of the most recent available information, Chartboost is owned by LoopMe, a mobile brand-advertising company that acquired Chartboost from Zynga (a Take-Two Interactive label) in December 2024.
Chartboost is a mobile advertising and monetization platform for game developers, combining ad mediation, a demand-side platform, and a supply-side platform to help apps serve ads and advertisers reach mobile game audiences programmatically.
Chartboost was founded in 2011 in San Francisco by Maria Alegre and Sean Fannan, both former Tapulous employees.
Yes. Zynga acquired Chartboost in 2021 for approximately 250 million dollars. When Take-Two Interactive acquired Zynga in 2022, Chartboost came along as part of that deal.
No. Take-Two divested Chartboost in December 2024, selling it to adtech company LoopMe.
Chartboost operates on a revenue-share and programmatic-auction model: developers integrate its SDK to serve ads, and Chartboost's mediation layer runs auctions among demand sources to maximize the revenue paid per ad impression.
Integrating the Chartboost SDK is free for developers; Chartboost generates revenue through its share of programmatic ad transactions rather than charging subscription fees.
At its peak under Zynga ownership, Chartboost reported a global audience of more than 700 million monthly users and over 90 billion monthly advertising auctions, though current figures under LoopMe ownership have not been independently verified.