What is Retention Rate?
Retention Rate is a crucial metric that indicates whether users who play a game for the first time continue to play it. Day 1 retention represents the percentage of new users who visited on Day 0 and returned the next day, while Day 7 retention shows the percentage of new users who visited on Day 0 and returned after 7 days (on Day 8).
fig01-Retention can be checked on CreatrHub.
The formula is "The percentage of users who started the game on Day 0 and played on Day N." For example, if 1000 people played on Day 0 and 150 of them played on Day 7, the Day 7 retention rate would be 15%.
Average Retention Rate of Roblox Games
Harsh Reality: Typical Roblox Game Numbers
According to GameAnalytics' 2023 report, Roblox game retention rates are particularly challenging compared to other platforms:
- Day 1 Retention: Only 12-15% of users return after the first day.
- Day 90 Retention: Even the best games have less than 1% retention after 90 days. (Source: https://gamedevreports.substack.com/p/gameanalytics-key-roblox-and-games )
This study analyzed over 4 billion game sessions, including 60 projects with over 10 million MAU and 300 projects with over 1 million MAU.
Comparison with Other Platforms
The low retention rate of Roblox stands out when compared to typical mobile games and PC/console games:
Average Mobile Games:
- Day 1: 35-40%
- Day 7: 10-15%
- Day 30: 5-10%
Average PC/Console Games:
- Day 1: Over 50%
- Day 7: 20-30%
In recent industry trends, due to rising UA (user acquisition) costs, a Day 1 retention rate of over 50% is becoming the new standard, but Roblox games are far from this standard. (Source: https://solsten.io/blog/d1-d7-d30-retention-in-gaming)
Session Time and Engagement
Average session time is a closely related metric to retention rate:
- Typical Roblox Games: Half of the games have an average session time of 6 minutes or less.
- Top 5% Games: Approximately 30 minutes per session.
- Top 25% Games: Users return at least twice a day.
- Top 5% Games: Users return more than 3.5 times a day.
Key Points to Improve Retention Rate
According to official Roblox documentation, the following elements are important for improving retention rate:
To Improve Day 1 Retention
- Optimize the Core Loop: Make the repetitive actions users take to progress in a single session clear and enjoyable.
- Improve First-Time User Experience (FTUE): Ideally, users should experience enjoyment within 5 minutes.
- Optimize Performance: Test on various devices and fix bugs.
To Improve Day 7 Retention
Building a progression system (such as leveling up or unlocking new content) is crucial. Balancing short-term and long-term goals and ensuring content diversity are recommended.
To Improve Day 30 Retention
Regular updates (small updates every 2-4 weeks, major new features every 2-3 months) and the addition of social features such as trading, parties, guilds, and PvP are effective.
Summary
Roblox game retention rates tend to be lower compared to general game industry standards. Numbers like 12-15% for Day 1 and less than 1% for Day 90 reflect the platform's characteristics (many young users, mostly free games, high competition).
However, this also means there is significant room for improvement. By optimizing the core loop, improving the first-time user experience, providing regular content updates, and enriching social features, it is possible to achieve retention rates above the average. To create a successful Roblox game, continuously monitoring and improving these metrics is essential.