In today’s gaming economy, the winners aren’t just the studios with the best ideas, they’re the ones that can sustain user acquisition at scale.
The challenge? Marketing spend happens up-front, while app-store payouts, ad-revenue shares, and in-game purchase income trickle in weeks or months later.
For most studios, that lag crushes cashflow. The result: campaigns get throttled, launches miss their momentum window, and great games disappear into the noise.
But a new funding model is changing that equation. User acquisition (UA) funding (often structured as a revolving credit facility (RCF) or monthly-recurring-revenue (MRR)-based finance) allows studios to borrow against predictable revenue or performance data to keep campaigns live, optimise return on ad-spend (ROAS), and accelerate growth without giving up ownership or control.
The Market Reality: User Acquisition Is Everything
According to Newzoo’s 2025 Global Games Market Report, total industry revenue is set to surpass $218 billion, with mobile titles contributing 52% of that total. Yet UA costs have risen by more than 30% since 2021 as competition and privacy restrictions reshape digital marketing.
A 2025 AppsFlyer Performance Index report showed that average cost-per-install (CPI) climbed to $1.42 globally, with some genres exceeding $3 per install in the UK and US markets.
Meanwhile, Deconstructor of Fun notes that the average UA payback window for mid-core and strategy titles is now 120–180 days.
That’s half a year of capital tied up before the first pound of profit lands in your account. For a studio spending £100,000 a month on ads, that’s £600,000 locked in the UA pipeline at any given moment, money that could otherwise fund production, staff, or a new release.
The Cashflow Gap: Where Growth Stalls
Traditional lenders or banks rarely fund creative IP-based businesses because:
intangible assets (like code and IP) don’t count as collateral;
revenue is platform-dependent and delayed;
performance metrics are dynamic and hard to underwrite.
Equity and publisher deals fill part of the gap, but at a cost. Selling 20–30% of your studio for a single campaign run might fuel one launch, yet dilute every future success.
That’s why a new breed of financial tools, performance-based revolving credit facilities, is rapidly gaining traction among studios that already have proven revenue or engagement data.
What Is User Acquisition Funding?
User Acquisition Funding is purpose-built working-capital credit that aligns directly with your marketing cycle.
It provides a flexible credit line (typically £10k–£750k) that can be drawn down, repaid, and redrawn as campaigns roll out and revenue comes back in.
Where equity demands ownership and publisher finance demands control, UA credit demands only performance transparency.
How it works:
Credit Limit Established
We review your revenue data, ROAS, cohort performance, and payout schedules to set a tailored credit line with a suitable lender.Drawdown for Campaigns
Funds are drawn as needed to launch or scale campaigns; typically on Meta, TikTok, Google, or influencer channels.Revenue Realisation
As in-app or ad revenues flow in, proceeds repay the facility.Revolving Access
Once repaid, funds become available again, mirroring the cyclical rhythm of UA spend.
In practice, it operates just like stock funding for e-commerce, only your “inventory” is digital users.
Why Studios Are Turning to Revolving Credit
Speed and Flexibility
Facilities can be arranged in weeks, not months, and adapt dynamically to real-time revenue.No Equity Loss
Unlike venture capital or publisher advances, this is non-dilutive funding. You retain 100% of your IP and future upside.Aligned With Performance
Credit limits grow as metrics improve, a virtuous cycle rewarding strong ROAS and retention.Lower Cost of Capital
Average effective annualised cost sit far below the long-term dilution impact of equity.Predictable Scaling
Because facilities are revolving, you can reinvest in each successful campaign immediately instead of waiting for cash to clear.
A £500k Example: How Revolving UA Credit Works
| Campaign Stage | Action | Cashflow Impact | Credit Position |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Month 1 |
Draw £250k for launch campaigns |
–£250k spend |
£500k limit → £250k available |
|
Month 2 |
Extend to £400k to sustain growth |
–£400k spend total |
£100k available |
|
Month 3 |
Wait |
Wait |
Wait |
|
Month 4 |
First revenue payouts £280k |
+£280k inflow |
Repaid → £380k available |
|
Month 5 |
Second payouts £200k |
+£200k inflow |
Facility cleared → £500k available again |
Result: the studio runs a six-month acquisition campaign entirely externally financed, maintaining liquidity for salaries, art, and dev work, and kept full ownership.
The Rise of MRR-Based Facilities
For larger or established studios, MRR-linked facilities extend the same concept over longer horizons, typically up to £10 million.
These facilities are underwritten against predictable monthly recurring revenue streams (e.g., subscription passes, ad-network returns, in-app purchase averages). They allow multi-title studios or publishers to refinance UA pipelines and scale multiple launches concurrently.
More than 38 percent of top-grossing mobile developers now use some form of performance-based credit to manage marketing liquidity.
Metrics That Matter to Lenders
When assessing UA funding, specialist lenders look at data, not collateral. Typical indicators include:
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): predictable income from IAPs, subscriptions, or ads.
Average Revenue per Paying User (ARPPU).
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) vs Lifetime Value (LTV) ratio.
Day-7, Day-30 retention rates and churn.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): ideally > 100 % within 180 days.
Platform Payout Timing: Apple/Google/Steam cycles.
Historic UA spend consistency.
Finspire’s approach is performance-centric, meaning studios with clean metrics and repeatable payback curves can often access higher limits at lower margins through our panel.
Why the Timing Is Perfect (2025 Landscape)
The post-IDFA advertising environment has completely rewritten the rules of digital marketing. Apple’s privacy changes have made attribution harder, audience targeting less precise, and campaign testing significantly more capital-intensive.
For studios, that means achieving the same visibility now requires more experimentation, more data science, and more working capital.
As explored in our related article, What Is IDFA: Why the Future of Ad Tracking Is Coming to an End, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework reduced the availability of granular user data that once made mobile UA so efficient. Campaigns now depend on broader behavioural modelling and creative iteration, which in turn demand deeper, longer cash cycles.
That shift has driven an industry-wide realisation: data efficiency and capital efficiency now go hand in hand. Studios that can finance continuous optimisation, not just launch spikes, are outperforming peers who pause spend while waiting for platform payouts.
With privacy-first marketing here to stay and attribution becoming a premium skill, revolving user acquisition funding has become the financial infrastructure underpinning modern growth.
When UA Funding Works Best
Ideal scenarios:
You have at least 6–12 months of consistent revenue data.
Your ROAS ≥ 80 % within 90 days and trending upward.
You plan continuous paid user acquisition, not one-off bursts.
Your pipeline includes multiple titles or live-ops updates.
You want to avoid dilution and maintain operational control.
Less suitable when:
Your product is pre-launch with untested monetisation.
You rely heavily on organic installs (no paid UA history).
Payback exceeds 12 months; the facility cost may outweigh ROI.
Mitigating Risk: Responsible Use of Revolving Credit
Finspire encourages studios to treat UA funding as a scaling accelerator, not survival finance.
That means pairing access to capital with disciplined measurement:
Cohort Tracking: monitor LTV / CAC per user group.
Budget Pacing: ensure drawdowns match campaign performance, not hopes.
Reinvestment Discipline: re-use repaid funds primarily for proven channels.
Diversification: balance spend across markets to reduce CPI spikes.
Reserve Management: maintain liquidity buffer for unforeseen delays.
This is how studios turn funding into a sustainable competitive advantage rather than debt dependency.
Beyond Gaming: Lessons from Other Sectors
The same credit mechanics have fuelled scale-ups in e-commerce, SaaS, and creator-economy businesses.
By adapting those proven models to the gaming ecosystem, Finspire gives studios access to financial infrastructure once reserved for large publishers or funds.
Performance-based credit is the bridge between creativity and capital efficiency ... It rewards studios that understand their data and can operate like disciplined marketers.
Practical Steps to Secure Funding
Consolidate Metrics: Gather 12 months of revenue, retention, and UA data.
Model Payback: Demonstrate cash-flow timing and revenue predictability.
Prepare Payout Proof: Statements from Apple, Google, or Steam validate receivables.
Forecast UA Plan: Outline spend rhythm, channels, and performance targets.
Engage a Specialist Broker: Finspire translates these metrics into lender-ready documentation and negotiates best-fit facilities.
Analyse Terms: Focus on margin, redraw flexibility, early-repayment options, and scaling triggers.
Onboard Seamlessly: Once executed, draw funds directly into your marketing workflow, often within 24 hours.
The Bigger Picture: A Shift in Power
Five years ago, small and mid-size developers had two options: take VC money or sign a publisher deal. Both meant giving up autonomy.
In 2025, access to structured revolving capital means the power balance is shifting.
Studios can now finance themselves like publishers, monetising IP and retaining creative control.
That’s not just financial evolution; it’s cultural independence.
Frequently Asked Questions
UA funding is a working-capital facility that gives studios flexible access to cash for paid marketing and user-growth campaigns. It’s usually structured as a revolving credit line or MRR-based facility, meaning funds can be drawn, repaid, and redrawn as campaign revenue cycles.
Unlike a traditional term loan, which is drawn once and repaid over a fixed schedule, UA funding revolves in sync with your campaign cycles. It’s underwritten against your studio’s performance data, not just accounts or assets, so credit limits can grow as your ROAS and retention improve.
Underwriters typically supports studios that already have a live product and at least 6–12 months of revenue or UA performance data. Early-stage developers can still access potential funding if they have strong pre-registration or beta metrics showing engagement and monetisation potential. If this is you, speak with us directly about your circumstances and we will guide you through what's available.
Facilities range from £100,000 to £750,000 for revolving credit and up to £10 million for MRR-linked growth facilities.
Once financials and UA data are received, facilities can often be approved and funded within 1–10 business days. Existing clients with ongoing campaigns can usually draw further tranches instantly.
Key indicators include LTV/CAC ratio, Day-7 and Day-30 retention, ARPPU, MRR consistency, and platform payout timing. The stronger and more predictable your payback curve, the larger and cheaper your facility is likely to be.
Revolving facilities are designed with flexibility. If a campaign underperforms, repayments can often be re-profiled or paused while the next cycle stabilises, provided overall revenue trends remain healthy.
Yes, partially. While its core purpose is to finance user acquisition, it can also support production costs, influencer partnerships, localisation, or launch marketing for new titles, as long as it ties back to scalable growth and revenue generation.
Publisher and VC deals usually exchange capital for equity or revenue share. Finspire’s facilities are non-dilutive, you retain 100% ownership of your IP. Our revolving and MRR-based structures allow you to grow like a publisher while staying fully independent.
Finspire primarily serves UK-registered studios but also supports international developers with UK entities or consistent global revenue streams. Cross-border facilities can often be arranged with tailored structures and currency options.
Conclusion: The New Currency of Growth
In a market where acquisition drives survival, capital agility is now as crucial as creative talent.
Revolving user-acquisition funding gives studios that agility. The ability to act, iterate, and scale faster than competitors still waiting on publisher checks or platform payouts.
By combining data transparency, financial discipline, and strategic funding, studios can own their destiny, and their IP.
Finspire Finance is proud to stand at that intersection of creativity and capital. We specialise in structuring all forms of funding, including revolving and MRR-based facilities that empower studios to grow without dilution, delay, or compromise.
