The install decision, made inside the ad.
An interactive preview: a short playable version of an advertised game or app, tried before installing. The user plays the mechanic first, and arrives at the store pre-engaged.
Illustrative placement
What it is.
A playable is an interactive ad: a compressed, self-contained version of the advertised app that the user can try inside the placement. It serves as the creative inside interstitial and rewarded slots, so the format your app already runs can carry playables without a separate integration. Many playables end with an interactive end card, a small extension that keeps the trial's mechanics alive after the gameplay portion ends.
Demand partners use playables because users arrive pre-engaged with the actual mechanic, and an install that already knows the game tends to stay installed. That mechanism is why game demand bids up for playable creatives in the first place.
The mechanics, in order.
Creative loads inside the slot
The winning playable renders inside the interstitial or rewarded placement the auction already filled. No separate placement, no separate integration.
Tutorial sets up the mechanic
The first seconds teach the gesture, swipe, tap, drag, so the trial feels like the real app rather than a video with a decoy overlay.
Gameplay portion plays out
The user plays the compressed version of the mechanic, typically a short, winnable sequence engineered to end on a high note.
End card carries the action
The interactive end card extends the mechanic and carries the store link. The install tap happens with the trial fresh, which is the entire point of the format.
Where this format belongs.
Inside rewarded
The strongest fit: the user opted in, the playable gets full attention, and finishing a short trial feels like part of the exchange.
Inside interstitial
At natural breaks, the playable replaces video where game demand prices the interaction higher than the view.
Game-heavy placements
Placements that consistently win game demand are where playables clear best; the reporting shows it per placement.
The numbers that ship.
File size, duration and HTML5 requirements
File size limits, duration and HTML5 requirements sit in the playable spec in the docs, so creative teams build against the limits the auction actually enforces.
The rules this format is held to.
Playables follow the rules of the placement that carries them: opt-in rules for rewarded, timing and close-control rules for interstitial. The playable must be a genuine trial of the advertised app, not a bait screen.
What each number tells you.
Interaction rate
How many users who see the playable actually play it. The first gate; weak interaction points at the creative or the placement.
Install rate versus video
Conversions from playable placements compared with video in the same spots. This is the number that justifies the format.
Let demand be played first.
Game publisher or demand partner: onboarding will confirm playable availability on your exact platforms and placements.
HTML5 · try-before-install · game demand