11 Key Game Metrics Every Developer Must Track

In game development—creativity and technical skills alone won’t guarantee success.  

Three questions for all the developers out there:

• Are people interested in playing your game in the first place?
• How many new players keep coming back for more? 
• Is your game generating revenue? 

You can answer all these questions if you track the right game metrics (there are hundreds of them). Some focus more on player behavior, while others target monetization. 

But which game metrics are the most useful for your game’s chances of success? Let’s break down the most important ones and how to leverage their results to your advantage.

Why are game metrics essential for success?

Game developers need to track various key metrics for many reasons. Here are some examples:

• Saves time: Setting game KPIs and measuring data will help game studios reach their goals quickly.
• Informs decision-making: Game metrics indicate how well your game is performing and what decisions to take to improve it. 
• Boost optimization: Game metrics help developers optimize monetization, better understand user behavior, and boost player retention. 
• Provides clear results: The more tangible results you can present to stakeholders, the better it will be for business.

11 key game metrics developers must track

We’ve cherry-picked 11 key game metrics into three categories: acquisition, engagement, and monetization.

Acquisition metrics

The first metrics in a game‘s lifespan revolve around acquisition. In other words, how well are you attracting new players to your game?

1. Number of installs

A large user base is key to any game’s early stages of success. How many people installed the game? A typical acquisition metric is tracking how often your game is being downloaded. This tells you how many people were interested enough in your game to make that first commitment. This can also help you understand what methods worked to acquire those players, to begin with.

To measure your install rate: Divide the number of installs by the number of ad impressions and multiply by 100. This can further explain the effectiveness of your company’s marketing efforts.

2. Number of new active users

You’d be surprised how many people install a game and never even get around to playing it. New active users are the people who start to play post-installation. This metric indicates which users are engaged from the very beginning. 

To measure new active users: Calculate how many users continuously engage with the game in the first seven days. 

To increase new active users: Implement rewards, in-game events, and other features can help to boost this metric.

With time, you can start to measure your DAU (daily active users) and MAU (monthly active users).

3. Session count

Each time a player opens the game, this counts as a session. If players continuously open your game in a certain timeframe, it indicates high engagement and interest. A low session count could suggest that the player’s interest is fading. 

Tracking session count can help developers enhance game features and social features, boosting return visits. To make the game appealing for repeated sessions, focus on areas like user experience and game design.

4. Session length

It’s important to track how long players are actively playing the game. The longer the session, the more engaged and satisfied the player. If a session is short, this might suggest pacing issues and player frustration. Session length data helps with optimizing level design and gameplay mechanics.

Engagement metrics

Understanding how players interact with a game helps developers in optimizing gameplay.

5. DAU (Daily Active Users) and MAU (Monthly Active Users)

DAU differs from “new active users,” which focuses more on those engaging with the game immediately post-installation. It allows developers to see how many unique users opened the game in a day (24 hours). 

MAU (Monthly Active Users) refers to unique users who have opened the app at least once in the last 30 days. 

You can then create a ratio using both game metrics. DAU/MAU ratio is more concerned with the game’s “stickiness.” It shows how many players return often compared to those who just return here and there. This metric ultimately indicates how well your game retains users.

6. Retention rate

Acquiring new players is one thing, but it means nothing if they’re not sticking around. A retention rate (RR) tells us how many players continue to play a game. Typically tracked on Day 1, Day 7, and Day 30, the higher the RR, the more successful a game will be in the long term. But if your RR is low, this could mean that there are issues with key areas like gameplay and user experience.

To measure RR: Calculate the ratio between returning players and new ones.

To improve RR: Collect player feedback, provide incentives, and find ways to enhance the overall player experience.

7. Churn rate

Probably the most alarming word in game development; churn is when a player stops playing a game. The opposite of retention rate, game churn rate is the number of players who churn over time.  

According to Business of Apps, Android/iOS games have an average churn rate of 68.3% on day one, reaching 95.95% by day 30.

A high churn rate could mean that players are disengaged, unsatisfied, bored, or confused by aspects of the game. They might even enjoy the game but stop playing because they found a more interesting game. 

To reduce churn rate: Optimize the player onboarding experience, and consider other factors like ad frequency. 

Here are some churn prediction strategies to help you boost player retention.

Monetization metrics

Certain game metrics help to measure the revenue generated from an engaged player base.

8. ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)

One of the key monetization metrics of game development, ARPU tells us the value of the average player when it comes to revenue. 

To calculate the ARPU: Divide the revenue by the number of users in a specific period. 

From these results, you can identify monetization opportunities that could increase revenue. 

9. ARPDAU (Average revenue per daily active user)

Following the same principle as ARPU, ARPDAU focuses on the daily revenue generated by the average player.

To measure ARPDAU: Divide the total revenue by the number of daily active users. 

To improve ARPDAU: Focus on boosting player spending with in-game promotions and offers.

10. LTV (Lifetime Value)

This metric is unique as it predicts the total revenue a player will generate over the entire playing period. This long-term estimation helps game studios:

• Create better retention methods
• Prioritize user acquisition strategies
• Calculate ROI for acquisition and marketing campaigns. 

To calculate LTV: Multiply the average user lifetime by the ARPDAU. 

11. IAPR (In-App Purchase Revenue)

IAPR is the revenue generated by in-app purchases. These include expansion packs, weapons, and virtual currency. This metric especially applies to F2P games, where in-app purchases contribute significantly to revenue.

Summary table of key game metrics

Here’s a quick reference table to summarize each key game metric, including how to measure and improve each one. 

Key game metric	How to calculate the metric	How to improve the metric	Metric type
Number of installs	Track total downloads	Optimize marketing channels to boost visibility	Acquisition
New active users	Count users who play within 7 days of installation	Add rewards/events to encourage initial engagement	Acquisition
Session count	Count each game session per user	Improve user experience and add social features	Engagement
Session length	Measure average playtime per session	Optimize level design and gameplay mechanics	Engagement
Daily active users (DAU)	Track unique daily users	Create daily rewards/events to boost daily engagement	Engagement
Monthly active users (MAU)	Track unique daily users over 30 days	Introduce monthly goals/events	Engagement
DAU/MAU ratio	DAU ÷ MAU	Focus on engagement strategies to improve “stickiness”	Engagement
Retention rate (RR)	Returning players ÷ new players (Day 1, 7, 30)	Collect player feedback and offer incentives	Engagement
Churn rate	The opposite of retention rate	Optimize onboarding and reduce ad frequency	Engagement
Average revenue per user (ARPU)	Revenue ÷ users over a period	Enhance in-game purchases and adds	Monetization
Average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU)	Revenue ÷ DAU	Create special promotions for daily players	Monetization
Lifetime value	Average user lifetime x ARPDAU	Improve retention and engagement to prolong user lifetime	Monetization
In-app purchase revenue (IAPR)	Revenue from in-app purchases	Introduce appealing items/upgrades/currency packs	Monetization

Key game metrics – In conclusion

When it comes to game metrics, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every game studio prioritizes different performance metrics depending on their current needs. But tracking at least some of the game metrics mentioned above will give you a dynamic overview of:

1. How attractive your game is
2. How many players are staying engaged
3. How much revenue it’s generating. 

The more data you measure, the better decisions you can make to optimize your game for long-term success.