{"id":331,"date":"2017-09-01T13:31:47","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T13:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torogrowth.com\/insights\/?p=331"},"modified":"2019-02-19T15:25:05","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T15:25:05","slug":"why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do your players churn?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#Why_do_your_mobile_game_players_churn\" >Why do your mobile game players churn?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#1_Your_game_intro_sucks\" >1. Your game intro sucks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#2_Your_games_sessions_are_too_long\" >2. Your game\u2019s sessions are too long<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#3_You_are_not_targeting_the_right_audience_for_your_project\" >3. You are not targeting the right audience for your project<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#4_You_are_targeting_a_saturated_fringe_of_the_market\" >4. You are targeting a saturated fringe of the market<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#5_You_didnt_run_enough_tests\" >5. You didn\u2019t run enough tests<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#6_Your_tutorial_slows_down_the_player\" >6. Your tutorial slows down the player<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#7_Your_game_is_too_hard_to_pick_up\" >7. Your game is too hard to pick up.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#Uninstalls_in_the_later_stages_of_the_game\" >Uninstalls in the later stages of the game<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#8_Sudden_rises_in_difficulty\" >8. Sudden rises in difficulty<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#9_Grosbilling_or_a_backfiring_grind\" >9. Grosbilling or a backfiring grind<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#10_The_game_relies_too_much_on_grinding_lacks_intrinsic_rewards\" >10. The game relies too much on grinding, lacks intrinsic rewards<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#11_The_game_requires_a_big_time_investment_to_become_enjoyable\" >11. The game requires a big time investment to become enjoyable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#The_specifics_of_social_and_Free_to_Play_games\" >The specifics of social and Free to Play games<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#12_A_toxic_community\" >12. A toxic community<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#13_Resources_are_too_scarce\" >13. Resources are too scarce<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#14_Your_game_sessions_feel_empty\" >14. Your game sessions feel empty<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#15_Your_game_punishes_inactive_players\" >15. Your game punishes inactive players<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#16_Updates_are_not_coming_fast_enough\" >16. Updates are not coming fast enough<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/why-do-your-mobile-game-players-churn\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_do_your_mobile_game_players_churn\"><\/span>Why do your mobile game players churn?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>And as you know, our first duty as professional game designers is to <strong>create compelling experiences<\/strong>. We make games for the players to enjoy and play! If they leave our games too fast and too often, we have failed.<br \/>\nThinking of the reasons why players are leaving your game is a great opportunity to put yourself in their shoes. Not only that, <strong>your financial success largely depends on the size and fidelity of your audience<\/strong>. In particular if you are monetizing your game with in-app purchases.<br \/>\nThe data science team here at GameAnalytics recently unveiled the results of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gameanalytics.com\/blog\/what-analysing-400-games-taught-us.html\" target=\"_blank\">their latest study<\/a>. The report shows that a strong player retention is correlated with your game\u2019s financial success. In particular keeping your very first players entertained. This means that it is critical to retain users if you want to make a living off of your work.<br \/>\nPlayers leave games. According to Marc Robinson\u2019s 2013 GDC talk, \u201c<strong>On average, less than 40% of players return to a free-to-play game after just one session<\/strong>.\u201d<br \/>\n[tweetshare tweet=&#8221;On average, less than 40% of players return to a free-to-play game after just one session!&#8221;]<br \/>\nThere are but a few reasons why players are leaving your game. The 2 most important ones are frustration and boredom: <strong>the archenemies of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jenovachen.com\/flowingames\/Flow_in_games_final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">flow<\/a><\/strong>. If you don\u2019t know what flow is already, it is a mental state characterized by the feeling of energized focus and a complete absorption in a given activity. That is a state of deep enjoyment, if not passion. That is the state we want our players to fall into with our games! Regardless of the genre we going for.<br \/>\nThis is, once again, our first duty as game designers \u2013 approached from the angle of positive psychology. <strong>A good player retention boils down to a design that calls for flow<\/strong>; a fluid and deeply rewarding experience. And please do not mistake that for a casual and grinding-based game! Your game\u2019s progression could feature many chosen bumps and still look fluid to the eyes of the right audience (as in the Die and retry genre).<br \/>\nIn this article, I didn\u2019t want to simply list clich\u00e9 design mistakes that we are all aware of. Instead, it is a checklist. The notes below are a collection of potential reasons why your players might leave the game, ordered from the most to the least important one. Make sure to double check them all to keep players in the zone!<br \/>\nWhy are players leaving your game? Or rather, why are they either frustrated or bored to the point they quit? Here are a few reasons.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Your_game_intro_sucks\"><\/span>1. Your game intro sucks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In pretty much every domain of their lives, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.columbia.edu\/~ww2040\/4615S13\/Psychology_of_Waiting_Lines.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">people want to get started<\/a>. They don\u2019t want to wait before they can get a taste of what your title has to offer. From the very moment they start your application, you should give your users a reason to stay. At all times! <strong>Your title screen, your loading and your first level will make up for the players\u2019 first impression<\/strong> of your game. This impression will stick with them, even if they don\u2019t uninstall your game right away.<br \/>\nYou can check our previous article for a more detailed rundown of the topic: How to create immersive intros.<br \/>\n[tweetshare tweet=&#8221;Your title screen, your loading and your first level will make up for the players\u2019 first impression&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Your_games_sessions_are_too_long\"><\/span>2. Your game\u2019s sessions are too long<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>We now have busy lives<\/strong>. Or maybe we don\u2019t. But our modern society makes us feel like we haven\u2019t got time anymore!<br \/>\nChances are your players are overwhelmed with notifications and other polished apps trying to grab their attention. If you are creating a game for grown-ups, they likely have a day job and a family taking most of that time. They cannot afford to play for hours in a row.<br \/>\nIt shouldn\u2019t take a whole hour to go through a meaningful chunk of your game. Nor to reach the next checkpoint. This doesn\u2019t mean that you have to follow the trend mobile games established, where 2-5 minutes long sessions is the norm. If you target experienced gamers, you can still get away with <strong>half an hour long sessions<\/strong>. And well, if you aim for the mobile market, you will have to make it possible for the users to play for as little as 3 minutes if you aim for a large audience.<br \/>\nThe right session length of a desktop game depends on the type of project you are working on. But even MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV made it possible for busy players to clear a normal dungeon in <strong>15 to 30 minutes<\/strong>. MMOs tend to account more and more for the needs of a whole range of target users rather than a specific profile.<br \/>\n[tweetshare tweet=&#8221;16 Reasons why players leave: Your game\u2019s sessions are too long&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_You_are_not_targeting_the_right_audience_for_your_project\"><\/span>3. You are not targeting the right audience for your project<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It wouldn\u2019t be efficient to target 60 years old players with a Beat Them All.<br \/>\nAlthough this point is game design 101, it is always a good reminder. <strong>As designers, we build a framework of experiences for others<\/strong>. Because we can\u2019t please everybody, we have to pick a target audience. That is to say a group of people whom we know will be interested in our creations. We have to study that audience. We have to go seek some of those individuals, get them to try out our product and give us feedback early on during development.<br \/>\nPicking the wrong audience also means dilapidating your marketing budget. Trying to appeal to the wrong users is utterly dangerous! It wastes both your time and your money.<br \/>\n[tweetshare tweet=&#8221;16 Reasons why players leave: You are not targeting the right audience&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_You_are_targeting_a_saturated_fringe_of_the_market\"><\/span>4. You are targeting a saturated fringe of the market<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Alright, let us imagine that we nailed our audience: women of age 40 and above, mostly unexperienced players, who have some free time. With that hypothesis, we are creating the next fresh match-3 games. It is an original title, highly polished, it receives great feedback from the press and we are starting to build up a small fan base already.<br \/>\nChances are it won\u2019t work. Why? Because there are already plenty of good puzzle physics and match-3 games available out there. In particular, big companies like King have a large and faithful audience already. People won\u2019t easily switch to other similar games, regardless of their quality.<br \/>\nWe work in the entertainment industry. Although our games are our creations, they are still products sold on a market. Whenever we bring a new product out there, we have to make sure that it <strong>solves a need<\/strong>. There is no real need for new match-3s today.<br \/>\nAnd even if your production matches the quality of your competitors\u2019 games, a company like King has something you will hardly outweigh. It has had a <strong>lasting positive relationship<\/strong> with its users.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_You_didnt_run_enough_tests\"><\/span>5. You didn\u2019t run enough tests<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Nowadays, buggy games and software tend to be the norm, sadly. It is even surprising to see AAA titles released in a highly polished state, bug free! Yet <strong>bugs are a plague.<\/strong> Any quirk hurts the viability of your product, the smoothness of the experience it offers. Bugs frustrate the players (even if some are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=93W6mB0ZqCM\" target=\"_blank\">pretty funny<\/a>!), thus can push them to uninstall your game.<br \/>\nWe must have end users try out our games very early on. Almost from the very first prototypes! As independent developers in particular, <strong>we cannot track down every single bug in our games alone<\/strong>. Even if we take the role of a tester, we still have an exhaustive understanding of how our creation works that hinders our ability properly track down all of its defects.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Your_tutorial_slows_down_the_player\"><\/span>6. Your tutorial slows down the player<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Dark_Souls_2_tutorial.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Dark_Souls_2_tutorial-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Dark_Souls_2_tutorial.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Dark_Souls_2_tutorial-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Dark_Souls_2_tutorial-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nA tutorial <strong>shouldn\u2019t force the experienced player through a long, boring, patronizing first game session<\/strong>. As the tutorial is often the first taste the player will have of your gameplay, it is critical to pay great attention to it. Here, I just want to stress out the fact that your tutorial should take in accounts the whole audience you are targeting.<br \/>\nIf you are making a JRPG or an FPS, a fair part of your end users won\u2019t need a tutorial at all. Don\u2019t force them through it! Dark Souls 2 offers us an example of a great tutorial, contained in a both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WDvJChqFQkg&#038;t=8m20s\" target=\"_blank\">well-designed and optional area<\/a> (you can run through straight through the main path to reach the game\u2019s hub city).<br \/>\nIf you want to learn a few more insights about what can break your tutorial experience, Ernest Adams compiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/feature\/134774\/the_designers_notebook_eight_.php?print=1\" target=\"_blank\">8 Ways To Make a Bad Tutorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Your_game_is_too_hard_to_pick_up\"><\/span>7. Your game is too hard to pick up.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As independent developers or in small teams, we tend to do our own testing. We also balance our gameplay accordingly. However, the game\u2019s difficulty should be <strong>calibrated against our target users\u2019 skills, not our own<\/strong>. Iterative beta testing and the use of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gameanalytics.com\" target=\"_blank\">game analytics<\/a> are key to staying objective with our game\u2019s balance.<br \/>\nIf the game offers an <b>unfair and punishing<\/b> first experience, the player will likely leave. Unexperienced users in particular. <strong>This is also true if your controls are unresponsive or imprecise<\/strong>. Poor controls make your game hard to pick up and unpleasant to play.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Uninstalls_in_the_later_stages_of_the_game\"><\/span>Uninstalls in the later stages of the game<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Our first goal is to prevent players from leaving in the early game. Otherwise, they won\u2019t play. But we also <strong>want them to keep playing until the later stages<\/strong>! On average, <a href=\"http:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2011\/TECH\/gaming.gadgets\/08\/17\/finishing.videogames.snow\/\" target=\"_blank\">only a fraction<\/a> of your players will ever see your game\u2019s ending. They will quit the game before they reach that point. So here are some reasons why players may leave your game in the later stages.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"8_Sudden_rises_in_difficulty\"><\/span>8. Sudden rises in difficulty<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Unwanted difficulty spikes will ruin the user\u2019s experience. Don\u2019t get me wrong: I am not saying that your game shouldn\u2019t be hard. However, it should be fair at all times. The Souls series is a solid example of an unforgiving game with a beautiful difficult curve. It even lets the player <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MM2dDF4B9a4\" target=\"_blank\">choose his own difficulty<\/a>, without knowing! <a href=\"http:\/\/supermeatboy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Super Meat Boy<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bindingofisaac.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Binding of Isaac<\/a> are both very hard, and were successful.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"9_Grosbilling_or_a_backfiring_grind\"><\/span>9. Grosbilling or a backfiring grind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Being invincible for a few seconds in a Mario game feels great. Because it doesn\u2019t last.<br \/>\nDo not forget that your game\u2019s challenge has to match the player\u2019s skills in order for him to stay in a state of flow. Flow is what will keep the player on your game ultimately. And it\u2019s a tough balancing act!<br \/>\nIn Skyrim, I remember reaching a point where dragons became a formality. My skinny thief could slay them with a single slice of a knife. This broke the immersion and the epic dimension of the universe for me. Guess what? That is also when I stopped playing.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"10_The_game_relies_too_much_on_grinding_lacks_intrinsic_rewards\"><\/span>10. The game relies too much on grinding, lacks intrinsic rewards<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Grinding is a powerful tool. Used well, it boosts your player\u2019s feel of skill progression. It offers concrete, quantifiable series of material rewards for the player. But grinding isn\u2019t enough to make a great game.<br \/>\nBlizzard, the masters of grinding, still spend ages polishing the core mechanics, the visuals, and the background of their games. Diablo 3 is not only a hack and slash: it is a beautiful, dynamic action game. World of Warcraft features dozens of unique regions and dungeons to explore in groups! Although grinding is central to those 2 games, <strong>it is only present to reinforce their respective main qualities<\/strong>, their core gameplay.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"11_The_game_requires_a_big_time_investment_to_become_enjoyable\"><\/span>11. The game requires a big time investment to become enjoyable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This used to be an issue with MMOs: The 4th Prophecy and other Dark Age of Camelot required the user to invest a lot of time before they could really enjoy the depth the gameplay had to offer. Once again, <strong>not all players nowadays can invest that time in a game<\/strong>. And as I showed above, most modern MMOs are adapting to this new user profile.<br \/>\nFinal Fantasy XIII is an example of a single player game that features a 30 hours long tutorial. The game systems are shown one by one to the player during that period of time, along a linear path. Only thereafter, the game offers a huge open level. That is the main critique it received.<br \/>\nYour game should always <strong>offer some entertaining content early on<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_specifics_of_social_and_Free_to_Play_games\"><\/span>The specifics of social and Free to Play games<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The points outlined above should ring true for a wide range of games. Not all games are social, so that is why their specifics are coming last in this list.<br \/>\nRetention in Free to Play games have been and are being analyzed over and over. Most reasons of poor retention in Social Games are straightforward and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gdcvault.com\/play\/1020101\/Why-Players-are-Leaving-Your\">easy to find on the Internet<\/a>. Below, I have tried to pick a few not-so-intuitive reasons.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"12_A_toxic_community\"><\/span>12. A toxic community<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In \u201cSocial Games\u201d, we can read the word \u201csocial\u201d. Most of the time, those games are not really social: they bear that name only because they integrate interactions between the game and social networks. But multiplayer games generally offer a way for players to communicate with one another. Be it through a general chat, in game emotes and interactions, or private messaging.<br \/>\nWell, you should <strong>carefully track how your community builds up and evolves <\/strong>if players can chat in your game. An aggressive community towards rookie players will scare most of your new users away! Real social games need to have good community management.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"13_Resources_are_too_scarce\"><\/span>13. Resources are too scarce<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Zombie_Catchers_game.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Zombie_Catchers_game.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Zombie_Catchers_game.jpg 640w, https:\/\/arpubrothers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Zombie_Catchers_game-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nThat is one of the plagues of Free to Play titles. What people call Pay to Win, or as I like to call it, <strong>Free to Pay<\/strong>. If we give non-paying players too few resources to make good progress, they will soon feel frustrated. Be it in the early or later parts of the game.<br \/>\nMonetization strategies that revolve around forcing the users to pay don\u2019t work. Throwing prominent ads at them to buy some more resources will result in the players leaving the game. As Seth Godin explains it very well in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Permission_marketing\" target=\"_blank\">Permission Marketing<\/a>, the users have plenty of alternatives to choose from. You are building a relationship with them. The design of your game shapes that relation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"14_Your_game_sessions_feel_empty\"><\/span>14. Your game sessions feel empty<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Following on the last point, social games players want to engage in a variety of activities in your game. <strong>Each gameplay session should feel lively and rewarding, regardless of its length<\/strong>. Using our previous example once again, Zombie Catchers stays fresh by alternating fun hunting based gameplay and some simple shop management. You can play for a few minutes and enjoy multiple gameplay phases.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"15_Your_game_punishes_inactive_players\"><\/span>15. Your game punishes inactive players<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fr.slideshare.net\/DavidPChiu\/kongregate-casual-connect-asia-presentation-final\" target=\"_blank\">The 21st slide<\/a> from Kongregate\u2019s talk summary at the Casual Connect Asia in 2013 says it all. On one end, making it dangerous for the player not to come back to your game often will force him to get into a playing habit.<br \/>\nHowever, people need to take breaks. At any moment, your users may have to stop playing because of an important upcoming event. An exam maybe, or a birth\u2026They also need to go on holidays sometimes. When they come back to your game, if they have lost their progress, their resources and their headquarters, they will likely quit. Instead you can reward an old user for coming back after a long absence! Fortifying their appreciation of the game.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"16_Updates_are_not_coming_fast_enough\"><\/span>16. Updates are not coming fast enough<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Let us end with an easy one: social and multiplayer games need to be kept alive. If you want to retain users on the long run, you need to keep them busy or give them a reason to come back. Regular and substantial game updates, <strong>every 1 to 3 months<\/strong>, are key to staying in the mind of your users.<br \/>\nIf your updates are slow, chances are your users will not only uninstall the game, but they might also forget to check it again later.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To sum up today\u2019s article, players leave your games for 2 key reasons:<\/p>\n<li><strong>Boredom<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Frustration, or anxiety<\/strong><\/li>\n<p>Those are <strong>your greatest enemies<\/strong> as a game designer. The antagonists of flow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do your mobile game players churn? And as you know, our first duty as professional game designers is to create compelling experiences. We make games for the players to enjoy and play! If they leave our games too fast and too often, we have failed. Thinking of the reasons why players are leaving your game is a great opportunity to put yourself in their shoes. Not only that, your financial success largely depends on the size and fidelity of your audience. In particular if you are monetizing your game with in-app purchases. The data science team here at GameAnalytics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-app-analytics","category-app-engagement"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Do Your Mobile Game Players Churn? | App Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Players leave games. 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