UK's ASA Bans Mobile Game Ads From King, Scopely Partners for Misleading Gameplay

The UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned mobile game ads from four developers — King, Scopely-linked Loom Games, Omnilojo and Vistrex — for showing gameplay that doesn't exist in the actual products.

ASA senior investigative officer Freddie Alcock put it plainly: "Mobile game ads must give people an accurate impression of the gameplay they can expect and mustn't mislead them with scenarios or features that aren't representative of the actual game."

Alcock also signalled more enforcement ahead: "It's important that people are able to make informed decisions about the games they choose to buy or download, so we'll continue to take action in this area where we see ads breaking the rules."

What did King get wrong?

The ASA banned a Facebook ad for King's Farm Heroes Saga that showed a match-three puzzle where clearing icons made nails fall and a saw move toward a cow. The regulator found those mechanics do not exist in the game, presenting players with an unattainable gameplay scenario.

King's defence leaned on fiction: the developer said the additions conveyed urgency and pointed to a "Not actual gameplay" disclaimer. The ASA wasn't persuaded. It ruled the disclaimer contradicted, rather than clarified, the impression the ad created.

That reasoning matters for the industry. A text label won't neutralise an ad whose entire premise is a mechanic the player will never encounter.

Which other ads were pulled?

The rulings covered four developers in total:

• King — Farm Heroes Saga Facebook ad banned for unattainable puzzle mechanics
• Loom Games — ad for Pixel Flow banned for featuring elements absent from gameplay; Scopely acquired a majority stake in Loom Games earlier this year
• Omnilojo — three Google ads for Dark War Survival banned
• Vistrex (Royal Ark Games) — ad for Idle Zombie Miner: Gold Tycoon banned

The Omnilojo case is the broadest. The Singapore-based developer's three Google ads for Dark War Survival showed non-interactive, cinematic story sequences instead of gameplay, with graphics that "differed materially" from the shipped game.

What about the fake award badges?

One Dark War Survival ad went further, carrying badges implying award wins — "2026 Game Creative" and "2026 Survival Game" — which the ASA found untrue. Omnilojo claimed the badges referred to the game being featured on Google Play and the App Store. The regulator ruled them misleading anyway.

For UA teams, that's a clear line: store featuring does not equal an award, and badge iconography implying honours invites enforcement.

The Vistrex ruling, meanwhile, hinged on proportion. The Cyprus-based company's ad for Idle Zombie Miner: Gold Tycoon ran on Facebook and Google Play and showcased elements from a 60-second minigame rather than the full game. The ASA treated that as misrepresentation, effectively setting a standard that ads must reflect the core experience, not a fringe mode.

What changes for studios?

Three practical takeaways for mobile marketers and creative teams:

• Disclaimers like "Not actual gameplay" don't immunise an ad if the gameplay shown doesn't exist
• Cinematic sequences can't substitute for real footage when the ad implies playable content
• Minigame footage represents the product only if the minigame is representative of it

The ASA has now banned ads across Facebook and Google inventory from developers spanning the UK, Singapore and Cyprus, and Alcock's statement promises continued action. Expect the next wave of rulings to test whether the industry adjusts its creatives — or waits to be named individually.