Player Retention Strategies in Browser Games: From Missions to Surprise Rewards

With so many different games available, providers and operators are in heavy competition with one another to stand out. The main goal, once a player has been attracted to the game, is to keep them playing it. With this in mind, there are many different player retention strategies in place, many of them increasingly successful. All of them are designed to make the player's experience much more enjoyable, thus earning their loyalty. Understanding player loyalty is a must, so let's take a look at the core strategies used.

Easy sign-ups

One of the major issues for players when it comes to games is the onboarding process. As such, many providers aim to make the onboarding process as easy as possible. Casinos, for example, have already tried to avoid this by making automatic or even anonymous sign-ups possible. Alongside this, they often sweeten the sign-up deal by offering a no deposit bonus to use on the site for many different games. For specific browser games, the process is often similar. Instead of having to go through lengthy tutorials, game sign-ups require a username and password, letting the player get stuck into the game right away. It's the instant playability that helps hook players.

Regular updates

As many of us know, there's nothing worse than a game that stagnates. And this is why most developers aim to have regular updates when it comes to their games. The best games regularly add new levels, characters, game mechanics or challenges to keep the game exciting. If these elements are not added, then the game can stagnate and players will migrate to a more exciting option.

Reward systems

A key part of any game, not just browser games, is the achievement or reward progression system. This can include milestones, rewards, unlocking new content and even various promotions on in-game purchases. This is one of the most influential parts of keeping players engaged and returning to the game. Missions, for example, can often provide large rewards for doing extra tasks. This can encourage players to take on these tasks, spending longer on the game overall. Hidden or unexpected bonuses and rewards are also offered. Games like Dragons: Rise of Berk often drop surprise rewards of Runes into the mailboxes of players. As Runes are the in-game currency, they can help pay to move through levels or succeed in tasks faster. Getting these surprise Runes is a great boost to the gameplay and often encourages players to keep playing a little bit more.

Community setting

Many browser or app games are increasingly utilizing social features to improve the gaming experience. These can include in-game chat, such as the one incorporated into games like Royal Match or Township. Both of these games also offer the option to join a team where players can chat or even share items to help each other along and achieve rewards and levels. It cultivates a social environment and allows players to share achievements with each other too. This cultivates a loyal player base that chooses to stick around for the long term. Many of these sites also make it easy to share achievements outside of the game interface. This means that players are able to share wins or milestones to social media sites like Facebook.

Communication is key

Another element to ensuring players stick around is the way the game communicates with the player. App-based games can use push notifications to engage or re-engage players. This can be to alert them to new events or rewards. Having these notifications appear on a phone or tablet can encourage a player to go back to a game they may have abandoned. Making the game personalized is another option. It's increasingly easy to do so thanks to the integration of AI. The game experience becomes tailored to the individual, and this includes the difficulty of each level and specific rewards given to the player. Finally, there are often incentivized log-ins, such as the promotion of winning streaks to get more rewards. Often this includes dynamic rewards, which means the prizes get bigger and better the more consecutive days are accumulated.

With all of these strategies in place, it's easy to see how players can become attached to a specific game, and just how well they actually work.

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