List of Metrics you Need to Know to Effectively Execute LiveOps Strategies

In the previous reads, we understood the importance of LiveOps and how it’s used to boost monetization for mobile gaming companies. To recap quickly, LiveOps allows game developers and product managers to implement updates or changes into a game that is actively being played. The aim is to consistently introduce improvements that contribute to retention and revenue. Some of the key aspects of LiveOps strategies for monetization include running special events that offer unique rewards, using player data to tailor offers and prices, and building a strong community with social interactions that enhance the gaming experience. 

However, implementing LiveOps strategies to boost engagement and monetization is only half the battle. The key to success for mobile games lies in continuous measurement, analysis, and optimization. By leveraging robust game analyticsand metrics, product managers and game developers can gain invaluable insights into player behavior, engagement levels, and revenue generation, enabling data-driven decision-making and strategic pivots. The true power of LiveOps lies not only in its implementation but also in the ability to measure and optimize its impact effectively.

Imagine a scenario where you've meticulously crafted a captivating in-game event, only to find that player participation is lackluster. Or perhaps you've introduced a new feature that you believed would drive engagement, but the data tells a different story. Without a robust system for measuring and optimizing your LiveOps strategies, you risk investing resources into initiatives that fail to resonate with your audience.

Today we’ll explore the list of metrics as you need to know if you're a LiveOps professional or looking to optimise LiveOps strategies.

Key Metrics and Indicators

To effectively measure the impact of LiveOps strategies, game developers closely monitor the following variety of metrics and indicators. 

1. Activity Metrics

• Daily Active Users (DAU): This metric represents the number of unique players who engage with your game on a given day. It serves as a barometer for daily engagement levels and can help identify trends or fluctuations that may need further investigation. This helps product managers understand how well the game keeps players coming back.
• Weekly Active Users (WAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU): Similar to DAU, these metrics provide a broader perspective on player engagement over a weekly or monthly timeframe. Tracking these metrics can reveal patterns in player retention and help you assess the long-term impact of your LiveOps strategies.
• Session Length: The average duration of a player's gameplay session can offer insights into the depth of engagement and immersion your game provides. Longer session lengths may indicate a captivating experience, while shorter sessions could signal areas for improvement or potential churn risks.
• New Users: Monitoring the influx of new players is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your acquisition strategies and the overall growth of your player base. This metric can help you identify successful marketing campaigns or content releases that attract fresh audiences.

2. Traffic Metrics

• Cost per Install (CPI): This metric measures the average cost incurred for each new player acquired through paid acquisition channels. Optimizing CPI is essential for maximizing the return on your marketing investments and ensuring a sustainable growth strategy.
• Return on Investment (ROI): Calculating the ROI of your LiveOps initiatives is vital for assessing their financial viability and impact on your bottom line. This metric takes into account the costs associated with development, implementation, and promotion, as well as the revenue generated from engaged players.

3. Monetization Metrics

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): ARPU represents the average revenue generated per player over a specific period. By tracking this metric, you can gauge the effectiveness of your monetization strategies and identify LiveOps opportunities for improvement.
• Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU): While ARPU provides an overview of revenue across your entire player base, ARPPU focuses specifically on players who have made in-app purchases. This metric can help you understand the spending behavior of your paying users and optimize your monetization tactics accordingly.
• Lifetime Value (LTV): LTV is a projection of the total revenue a player is expected to generate over the course of their lifetime within your game. This metric is crucial for evaluating the long-term profitability of your LiveOps initiatives and informing your acquisition and retention strategies.
• Paying Share: This metric represents the percentage of your player base that has made in-app purchases. Tracking paying share can help you identify trends in player spending behavior and tailor your monetization efforts to specific segments of your audience.

4. In-game Metrics

• Currency Levels (Hard vs. Soft): Monitoring the levels of in-game currencies, both hard (premium) and soft (earned), can provide insights into player progression, engagement, and potential.
• In-app Purchases: Analyzing the types of in-app purchases made by players, as well as their frequency and timing can help you refine your strategies and identify potential revenue streams.
• Game Level Progress: Tracking player progression through game levels can reveal pain points, bottlenecks, or areas where players may disengage. This information will guide your content creation efforts and inform updates or adjustments to existing levels.

5. Engagement Metrics

• Retention: Measuring player retention over various time periods (e.g., day 1, day 7, day 30) is crucial for understanding the stickiness of your game and identifying potential churn risks.
• Churn Rate: The churn rate represents the percentage of players who have stopped engaging with your game over a specific period. Monitoring this metric can help you identify potential issues and implement targeted strategies to re-engage lapsed players.
• Sticky Factor: This metric measures the percentage of players who continue to engage with your game after a certain period, such as a week or a month. A high sticky factor indicates a compelling and engaging experience that fosters long-term player retention.
• Event Participation: Tracking the number of players participating in specific in-game events or campaigns can provides insights into the effectiveness of your LiveOps efforts and help you optimize future events.
• Social Shares and Mentions: Monitoring social media activity related to your game, including shares, mentions, and community engagement, can offer a glimpse into your game's brand awareness and the level of player advocacy.
• Community Size: Measuring the growth and activity levels of your game's online community serves as a proxy for player engagement and loyalty. A thriving community can foster a sense of belonging and contribute to long-term retention.
• User Feedback: Gathering and analyzing player feedback through surveys, reviews, or in-game channels provides invaluable insights into areas for improvement, as well as highlights the features or aspects of your game that resonate most with your audience.

By combining these metrics and indicators, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your LiveOps performance, which will enable you to make data-driven decisions and continuously optimize your game.

A/B Testing and Experimentation

To continuously optimize LiveOps strategies, game producers, product managers and developers should embrace a culture of experimentation and A/B testing. By deploying controlled experiments and testing variations of game mechanics, content, pricing models, or user interfaces, game studios can gather valuable data, validate hypotheses, identify optimal strategies, and make informed decisions based on real-world data and quantifiable results. 

A/B testing, also known as split testing, involves dividing your player base into two or more groups and exposing each group to a different variation of a specific element within your game. This allows you to compare the performance of each variation and determine which one yields the best results. Here are some common A/B testing scenarios in the context of LiveOps:

1. In-game Event Design: Test different variations of an in-game event, such as the event mechanics, rewards, or user interface, to identify the most engaging and effective version.
2. Monetization Strategies: Experiment with various pricing models, in-app purchase bundles, or virtual currency exchange rates to optimize revenue generation while maintaining a positive player experience.
3. User Interface and User Experience: Test alternative UI designs, navigation flows, or tutorial sequences to enhance player onboarding, reduce friction, and improve overall usability.
4. Content and Feature Releases: Evaluate the impact of introducing new game modes, levels, or features by rolling them out to a subset of your player base and measuring engagement, retention, and monetization metrics.
5. Marketing and Promotion: Test different messaging, creative assets, or targeting strategies for your marketing campaigns to optimize acquisition and re-engagement efforts.
6. Notifications and Messaging: Experiment with the timing, frequency, and content of in-game notifications, push notifications, or email campaigns to maximize engagement and minimize player fatigue.

Conclusion: Continuous Optimization and Iteration

LiveOps strategies hinge on continuous measurement and optimization to enhance player engagement and monetization. This process involves closely monitoring a mix of activity, traffic, monetization, in-game, and engagement metrics to understand player behavior and refine game features accordingly. For instance, metrics like Daily Active Users (DAU), Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), and retention rates are vital for gauging game performance and player satisfaction. Moreover, embracing A/B testing is crucial for experimenting with game elements to identify the most effective strategies that resonate with players. This culture of testing helps in fine-tuning everything from in-game events to monetization tactics, ensuring that games can adapt to player needs and market dynamics effectively. 

How does your mobile gaming company leverage LiveOps to boost player retention and increase revenue?