Retention
Day 1, 7 and 30 return rates, the retention curve, cohorts, lifecycle stages and players at risk.
Return rates
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Day 1 return | Share of new players who played again exactly one day after their first day |
| Day 7 return | The same, seven days later |
| Day 30 return | The same, thirty days later |
| Avg sessions | Average sessions per player |
"Exactly" matters: a player who returns on day 2 but not day 1 does not count toward day 1. It keeps the numbers comparable between games and weeks.
Retention curve
Weekly retention over 8 weeks, comparing the last 4 weekly cohorts with the 4 before. If the recent line sits lower, something changed for new players.
Cohorts
A heatmap of players grouped by when they first joined, and what share came back in each later period. Switch between Daily, Weekly and Monthly.
Lifecycle
Every player is in one stage:
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New | First 7 days |
| Active | Played this week |
| At risk | Quiet for 7 days or more, after at least 3 sessions |
| Lapsed | Quiet for 30 days or more |
| Churned | Quiet for 90 days or more |
First session length
How long new players stay in their first session: under 1 minute, 1 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 30 minutes, 30 minutes to 1 hour, and over an hour. A large share under 5 minutes usually points at the first minutes of your game.
Return rate by source
Retention split by where players came from, so you can tell a source that brings many players from one that brings players who stay. Needs Growth or higher.
At risk
A table of at-risk players sorted by spend, so you can reach your most valuable players before they lapse.