Whether it comes to friends, family, or many other things, loyalty is a virtue we all value.
Mobile gaming is no exception to this.
Today more than ever, mobile game developers are focused on keeping players around for the long term. Since acquiring new players has become more difficult and expensive, the goal is to make existing players more loyal.
Some games that do this very successfully include Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans, and Candy Crush Saga.
What can you do to boost player loyalty? How do we even measure it? Which game genres drive the highest loyalty?
Let’s answer all these questions and more.
The Concept of Player Loyalty
Loyal players play games for a long time, come back often, and most importantly — they generate revenue for the game.
How do we identify these players?
Mobile game developers typically measure player loyalty with two key metrics — retention and LTV (lifetime value).
Retention-wise, the goal is to achieve positive long-term retention (after day 30, day 60, and beyond). Some other engagement metrics that show players are loyal are playtime, sessions per user, etc.
On the monetary side of things, loyal players are known to generate high LTVs and ARPU and make repeated purchases.
All these metrics are usually discussed separately, yet the concept of player loyalty ties them all together
Leading Genres in Player Loyalty
You can’t expect the same level of player loyalty from a mid-core and hyper-casual game.
Some genres naturally keep players more engaged.
According to Mistplay’s Loyalty Index, these are the mobile game genres with the highest loyalty ratings (on a scale of 1 to 100):
- RPG games (loyalty rating 75)
- Strategy games (loyalty rating 70)
- Simulation games (loyalty rating 67)
- Lifestyle games (loyalty rating 61)
- Racing games (loyalty rating 59)
It’s really not that surprising to see RPG and strategy games in the top positions.
These genres usually provide deep and immersive experiences that keep players engaged for a long time. They are often filled with engagement features like chats, competitions, live events, challenges, etc. Thanks to all this, players don’t get easily bored with these games and don’t abandon them quickly.
How to Boost Player Loyalty: 5 Best Practices
What can you do that’s in your power to boost player loyalty?
Here are just some things you can do to turn players into your game’s biggest fans.
1. Nurture Loyalty From the First Impression
The process of loyalty building begins with the moment players hear about your game.
For example, when they see an ad for your game on social media or they check out its app store reviews.
First impressions are incredibly important.
One thing you can do to make a good first impression is to show your game as it is and avoid misleading advertising.
Using fake ads to lure players in can be tempting, but in the long run, this may harm player loyalty. Typically, loyal players appreciate honesty from the start, so we advise you to stay away from this controversial practice.
2. Implement a Strong Progression System
People start to play games for various reasons.
But did you know that the top reason they continue to play games is the desire to progress?
In Mistplay’s Loyalty Report, 57% of players have stated they continue playing games because they want to keep progressing, and 50% don’t want to abandon their progress.
For this reason, games with well-built progression systems usually have more loyal players than others. Some popular progression features include reaching new levels, completing missions, challenges, upgrading, unlocking achievements, etc. All these features give players a sense of accomplishment, which keeps them coming back to the game.
3. Personalize Things
Engaged players appreciate special treatment.
So, if you want to turn these players from merely engaged to truly loyal, consider personalizing some game features. For example, you can provide personalized IAP offers, rewards, character personalization, etc.
Personalization is a tried and tested practice for improving player engagement, retention, and LTVs. Since we measure player loyalty using these metrics, it makes personalization a logical strategy for increasing loyalty.
4. Monetize with Rewarded Ads
Rewards and loyalty always go hand in hand.
Just as airlines have air miles and stores offer loyalty points, mobile games can use in-game rewards to keep players engaged.
To achieve this effect in your game, consider introducing rewarded advertising.
The two most popular forms of rewarded advertising are rewarded video ads and offerwalls. Offerwall ads stand out as a particularly strong loyalty-boosting strategy. These ads allow users to choose from a list of actions they can complete to earn valuable rewards.
Offerwall users tend to stay with games for long periods of time. According to ironSource, offerwall users have 5-7x higher retention rates than non-offerwall users. The best thing about in-game offerwalls is that they are completely unobtrusive — players voluntarily engage with these ads.
So, even if just a handful of players become offerwall users, there is a great chance they will become valuable and loyal to your game.
5. Work on Community Building
Loyal players often like to communicate with each other.
So, make sure to give them a space where they can do that.
Mobile game communities can be built within games (e.g. chat, guilds) or on external platforms (e.g. Reddit, Facebook).
As a game developer, your role is to create a mobile game community foundation and keep it alive. Once you create a community, it’s important to actively engage in conversations. For example, by sharing the latest game updates, and upcoming features, providing support and feedback, etc.
Players who join a mobile game community in the first place are already more loyal than your average player. Your goal here is to maximize that loyalty by keeping the conversation going and not letting them get bored of your game.
Final Thoughts on Player Loyalty
As you can see, player loyalty is a powerful and complex thing.
Making players loyal isn’t easy, and keeping them loyal requires ongoing effort.
If you’re looking for a way to boost player loyalty that is effective and not too time-consuming, consider introducing an in-app offerwall. It involves some initial setup, but once it’s implemented, your offerwall partner handles the rest.
At MAF, we’ve helped many companies boost player loyalty with our in-app offerwall, MyChips. Explore how MyChips can benefit your game and contact us for more details!
