7 Reward Systems in Mobile Games That Keep Players Hooked

Any good mobile game should make players feel a sense of achievement. Otherwise, what’s the point? Players need to walk away feeling like they were rewarded for their time and effort. 

That’s where reward systems come in. Yes, they’re designed to boost player engagement. But they also drive in-app spending. 

This begs the question: Which reward systems deliver the best results? Let’s break down the most effective ones and how they can elevate your game’s success.

What Are Reward Systems in Mobile Games?

Reward systems are extremely useful for mobile games – both psychologically and monetarily.

These systems incentivize player decisions, such as feature engagement and in-app purchase spending.

Effective mobile game reward systems create a sense of achievement and progression. They can create pleasure and motivate players to repeat their actions.

But ultimately, they’re designed to boost engagement and retain players for longer.

7 Types of Reward Systems in Mobile Games (+ Examples)

We’ve shortlisted the most effective mobile game reward systems (and some that are starting to gain some traction). 

1. Social Rewards

Many people play games for social reasons. In fact, in a survey of more than 2000 mobile gamers, more than a quarter (27%) use social media to discover new games.

The power of social rewards in apps is unquestionable, as they incentivize social interaction. Typical examples include:

• Social sharing: Players can show off their achievements across social platforms.
• Leaderboards: They can healthily compete with friends and other players.
• Friend-referral bonuses: They can be rewarded for inviting a friend to play the game.

Example: Pokemon Go includes geolocation-based rewards for players to interact with other players, building connections in the process.

2. Daily Rewards

Every developer wants to see players return to their game daily. So daily rewards can be a really powerful way of maintaining loyalty from Day 1. 

The idea is simple. If you log in daily, you get a reward. If you perform a specific task daily, you get a reward.

Power-ups, boosters, and extra lives contributed heavily to 2024’s $92 billion mobile game revenue. These mechanics can impact player retention significantly.

Examples:

• Candy Crush Saga rewards players with both daily rewards and achievement rewards.
• King exceeded its D7 ROAS goal by 1.5x after focusing on daily rewards.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Clash Royale use daily login rewards to great effect.

3. Achievement-Based Rewards

This reward system is designed to boost player engagement and retention. How? Players will receive incentives each time they reach specific milestones or complete tasks.

Typically, this can take the form of in-game currency. In a recent survey, results showed that 39% of mid-value spenders in the US and Canada claimed that earning redeemable in-game currency would make it likelier for them to spend money. 

Example: Amazon Slots allows players to earn trophies by completing tasks. Acquiring a certain number of trophies produces rewards like gift vouchers and free spins.

4. Rewarded Video Ads

In mobile games, players can also be rewarded in video ads. Consider the following numbers:

• The US has the highest eCPMs for rewarded ads ($13.18 on iOS and $12.91 on Android).
• Games with rewarded video ads usually have more than three daily active sessions.

Rewarded ads provide players with boosters, in-game currency, and other benefits in exchange for watching a short video. A neat trick is to gamify the ad, allowing players to engage with it further.

Examples:

• Optimizing rewarded videos helped LBC Studios increase revenue for their game Hempire, boosting their ARPDAU by 37% 
• Lion Studios’ Hexa Sort successfully includes reward video ads with other ads such as free daily rewards and reward multipliers.

5. Gacha Mechanics

Gacha mechanics require players to spend either real money or in-game currency on a random in-game item. The following figures highlight its impact:

• The gacha game market is expected to reach $1 billion by 2033 (at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2025 to 2033).
• 16.4% of Japanese boys aged 15-19 spend money on gacha mechanics. 

Successful games that implement gacha game mechanics include: 

• Genshin Impact

• Langrisser

• Raid Shadow Legends

• Fate/Grand Order

• Fire Emblem Heroes

• Azur Lane.

6. Battle Passes

Battle passes are an effective way to motivate players to earn more rewards. In fact, 6 out of 10 mobile game spenders have bought one. 

This system improves game progression. It rewards players for leveling up or unlocking challenges in a game.

Examples

In the first half of 2024, PUBG Mobile generated about $615 million in revenue. It owed much of its monetization to its Fortnite-inspired battle pass system. It did this by adding the following features:

• Converting roleplaying into premium currency
• Unlocking missions and auto-completing tasks
• Rewarding players based on Battle Pass rank.

Marvel Snap launched a battle pass (with Gwenpool as an unlockable card). This inclusion helped the game’s revenue spike by more than 300%. It also reached 21 in the Top 200 US iOS-grossing titles.

7. Time-Limited Rewards

Instead of rewarding players at any time, consider creating more urgency with time-limited rewards. This increases the likelihood of FOMO and raises engagement levels.

Typical time-limited rewards include: 

• Double rewards: Receive twice as many rewards.
• Unlimited lives: Unable to die in-game while the reward is active.
• Stat boosters: Improving a player parameter (difficulty, player power) temporarily.

Optimize Reward Systems With Analytics

To get the most out of these reward systems, leverage your data to track and optimize performance. A/B testing, player segmentation, and predictive analytics can all help you measure their impact and refine your strategies.

Investing in game-focused analytics platforms like Keewano can translate trends into actionable recommendations for:

• Balancing rewards and progression
• Personalizing rewards
• Reducing and preventing churn.

Leveraging these tools can help you identify which reward systems best fit your game’s genre, mechanics, and goals.