3 Innovative Ways to Boost Player Retention in Gaming

If your game is the body, then player retention is its beating heart. It’s the difference between an exciting, compelling game and one whose charm ends up fading. Often the difference is subtle. 

A few well-placed strategies can boost your game’s “stickiness.” This can also increase your user base and build player loyalty. 

With player rewards, personalized experiences, and enhanced in-game content, you’ll quickly see a rise in player retention.

The importance of player retention in gaming

Acquiring players is one thing. But keeping them around is harder work than you think. In gaming, player retention is everything. If your game isn’t keeping players around, then it’s not doing its job. 

Recent research highlights how fast players lose interest if a game isn’t immediately hooking them or delivering consistent value:

Mobile apps (all categories):

• The average iOS RR is 25.65% on Day 1 and falls to 4.13% by Day 30.
• The average Android RR is 23.01% on Day 1 and falls to 2.59% by Day 30.

Mobile games:

• iOS has a 35.7% retention rate on Day 1, falling to 5% by Day 30.
• Android games have an average 27.5% RR on Day 1, falling to 2.6% by Day 30.

These figures demonstrate the steep drop-off rates of games and apps. Developers must strive to instantly engage players and keep them locked in for the long term.

Retaining players brings multiple benefits. These include:

• Creating brand loyalty: Those who stay around and continue to play your game are your biggest ambassadors. They’re likely to promote your game through positive reviews, social media posts, and word-of-mouth.
• Great sources of user feedback: Some of the best feedback can come from a game’s loyal player base. They’re just as likely to submit complaints as they are to shed praise on it. Feedback contributes significantly to iterative development, helping you refine your game more efficiently.
• Game optimization based on feedback: Every retained player is an integral part of your game’s overall ROI. Loyal users are likely to view ads and make in-app purchases. High lifetime value (LTV) will positively impact your ROI.

Now that you get its significance, let’s break down some of the most effective steps to retain players.

3 strategies for player retention

We’ve cherry-picked the most useful strategies for enhancing player engagement and player retention.

1. In-game rewards and challenges

Whether it’s unlocking a feature or advancing to a new level, players love accomplishing something from a game. And they’ll keep coming back for that same sensation with fresh rewards and challenges. According to Mistplay’s Mobile Gaming Growth Report, 52% of re-engagement strategies involve offering in-game rewards. If your players know there are new in-game goals to achieve, they’ve got a reason to open up the game again. 

We recommend implementing personalized reward systems. For example, reward players with in-game items who consistently finish challenging levels. You could also reward players who engage more with the game’s social elements.

2. Improving game-based content

If you want to boost player retention, you must build a strong, empowered gaming community around your product. 

User-generated content gives players the platform to create new characters, levels, and items. This helps players grow more connected to a game, making them more engaged and loyal along the way. 

On the flip side, developers can keep gameplay fresh with regular game content updates (i.e. Festive and Halloween levels). In fact, 49% of re-engagement strategies involve new content.

3. Personalized player experiences

Developers now have advanced analytics to better understand individual player journeys. This helps them customize the game to each player’s behavior patterns and interests. This personal touch makes players feel more valued, raising their chances of staying.

The more detailed a user profile can be, the more personalized the game will be for that user. Then there is the ability to adjust difficulty based on individual player abilities. Optimizing game challenges based on previous achievements is an effective way of challenging players at all ends of the difficulty spectrum.

Measuring player retention strategies

Once you’ve implemented these player retention strategies, you need to measure their success. Did they make a difference to your current user base?

Three of the most important metrics for player retention are retention rate, churn rate, and session length/frequency.

Retention Rate

In gaming, retention rate is the percentage players who continue playing a game during a specific period post-download. Developers can measure this metric to determine how “sticky” the game is.

Retention rate is typically measured during the following phases:

• 1-day retention: Your game made a strong first impression, bringing players back within the first 24 hours.
• 7-day retention: If a player returns to the game within the first week, the game has piqued their interest beyond the first experience.
• 30-day retention: Engaging with a game many times within the first month is a testament to its long-term playability.
• 90-day retention: If a player’s enjoying a game for three months, then the game has become a vital part of the person’s day-to-day enjoyment.

To calculate RR, simply divide the number of players who played your game post-installation by the total number of players who downloaded the game on the same date. Then multiply by 100. 

For example, if 80 players installed your game, and 30 returned on day 7, your 7-day retention rate would be 37.5%.

(30/80) x 100 = 37.5%

Churn rate

If the retention rate is on one side of the player retention coin, then the churn rate is definitely on the other. The key metric measures the percentage of players who stop playing a game after a certain period. If you can reduce churn in your game, you are more likely to improve player retention. If fewer players leave, then more players stay.

Session length and frequency

Session length tracks how much time players have spent in a game per session. Session frequency refers to how many sessions someone played in a specific period. These metrics can show how engaged players are.

Methods for measuring player retention

There are numerous tools and methods developers can use to measure player retention. Some of the most effective include:

• A/B testing: Comparing two versions of a game to see which one retains players more effectively. This helps developers make data-driven decisions, optimize UX, and avoid creating alienating features.
• Retention dashboards: These dashboards are designed for measuring retention metrics over specific periods. Their data visualization and player segmentation features provide more in-depth insights.
• Player Feedback: By gathering player feedback, you can identify why players are leaving and what new features are required.

Use these player retention strategies—thank us later

You can have the most exciting game on your hands. But if players are checking out early and not coming back, you still have a lot more work to do. Make sure to implement and track the above strategies and metrics. Before you know it, your player’s engagement and retention levels will be better for it.