Have you ever wondered how your favorite game gets you hooked? Is it the reward that came just at the right time and was probably pretty cool, a new level, or an exciting new event that appeared just as you were about to log off? It’s no accident. Just behind those colourful graphics and fun gameplay is a secret superpower area called mobile gaming analytics.
Just like a coach studies a player’s performance, spelling errors to help improve their performance and game, gaming studios will study analytics and trackers to proportional how players react, what works, and how to develop better gameplay fun! And when companies need a trusted mobile measurement partner, they turn to a platform such as Apptrove, which helps track and improve with measurement, so they can do it smarter.
Why does Mobile Gaming Analytics Matter?
You can think of it a little like being captain of a football team, but never recording their scores, passes, and mistakes… How would you improve? The same goes for mobile games. Mobile gaming analytics or tracking is how developers ‘keep score’ on what is fun, figuring out what is working, and making more informed decisions.
Analytics can answer questions like:
- At what level do players make the most quits?
- At what time of day do players do the most log-ins?
Unlocking the Player Journey
You’re likely to win, or create a constant feeling of reward- it can be a false sense of fairness. Developers are able to balance fun and fairness. Let’s say, for example, you’re a gamer playing a battle game that has a drop of rare items. If you can never win those items, you will likely quit the game entirely at some point. If the drop rate is too high, and it’s easy to win these items, it will become boring fast.
Developers can track win rates, drop rates and playtime to determine where they can find the balance of fun and fairness, resulting in an enjoyable game experience. This is the reason you may feel like you always seem to win, or have that sense of constant reward- it can be an illusion of fairness. The part these developers play with analytics to make the gaming experience rewarding is amazing.
Mobile Game Analytics Tools
Of course, developers don’t do all this tracking by hand. They use mobile game analytics tools that collect data and show it in easy-to-read charts and reports. These tools can measure everything from how long players spend in a level to which ads bring the most downloads. Without these tools, developers would be left to guess.
Some tools even allow A/B testing, where two different versions of a feature are tested on small groups of players. For example, one group might see a red “Start” button while another sees a green one. The tool tracks which button receives the most taps, and the winner becomes the final version.
Powering Growth with Insights
For gaming companies, it’s not all about keeping existing gamers satisfied; they essentially need to grow, too. Mobile gaming analytics shows companies the best ads and ads that only lead to wasting their money. When a campaign leads to new players who played for 5 minutes and then left, developers know they need to adjust. Conversely, when the ad campaign leads to players who will play for weeks and weeks, they will put more investment into that strategy.
That growth mindset is what turned small indie titles into global phenomena. The success of mobile games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush was more than just fun. There were teams behind those titles who studied the data from players and continually improved to make better decisions based on the analytics.
Final Thoughts
The next time you turn on your favourite game and think about how it “just understands me”, it’s not that magic; it’s all the mobile gaming analytics behind the scenes.
Through understanding data, correcting issues, and crafting better experiences, developers are able to turn cold, hard numbers into fun. Mobile game analytics and mobile analytics tools make it easier for developers, and the world of gaming continues to evolve, making opportunities for every adventure so much more fun.
