Related engagement
Product Strategy Sprint
A focused diagnosis of the product loop, value exchange, retention constraints, and the roadmap choices that follow.
Explore the engagement →Topic 05 · Player systems
Gaming expertise. Impact that travels.
Game Economy, LiveOps & Retention.
Most monetization and retention problems start upstream, in the economy and the loop: what a reward makes the player do next, when an offer arrives relative to attachment, whether events amplify the core or replace it. These notes read the game as a system of incentives—and the lessons travel to any product with progression, pricing tiers, or habits.
Diagnostic frame
Start with the questions behind the metric.
- What did this reward make the player do next?
- Is the offer arriving before the player cares about what it protects?
- Are live events amplifying a healthy loop, or replacing one?
Selected writing
Read the field notes
- Sep 2026 D—01 · Gaming 3 min
What Is a Good Retention Rate for a Mobile Game?
There is no single good retention number. Genre, platform, country, source and definition all move it. Here is how to judge whether yours is good enough for the decision in front of you.
- Sep 2026 D—01 · Gaming 3 min
Mobile Game Companies to Know, by Region (2026)
A regional map of mobile game studios and publishers — from global leaders to fast-growing mid-size studios — with a representative title and where to find their open roles.
- Aug 2026 D—04 · Revenue 2 min
Pricing Architecture Is Product Architecture
An energy cap, a free allowance or a tier limit shapes the rhythm of the product before it shapes revenue. The price is also the tutorial.
- Jul 2026 D—01 · Gaming 3 min
When Play Becomes Upkeep
Players don't usually leave on the day they stop opening the app. The exit starts earlier — when play quietly turns into maintenance.
- Jun 2026 D—01 · Gaming 3 min
When the Player Becomes a Queue Manager
A game can have plenty of content and still feel empty if the player is only clearing the designer's queue. Mid-game retention is often an ownership problem, not a content problem.
- Jun 2026 D—01 · Gaming 2 min
Reward Systems: What Did This Reward Make the Player Do Next?
The claim event is visible and measurable, so it is what teams optimise. The real read is what the reward made the player do next.
- Jun 2026 D—01 · Gaming 2 min
Roblox and User-Generated Retention
UGC is the visible layer. The deeper engine is that players carry part of the attention burden — and most mobile games can borrow a small piece of that without becoming a sandbox.
- Jun 2026 D—01 · Gaming 10 min
Where Are Your Boss Fights?
Most products celebrate milestones. The best ones design moments where users earn the next level.
- May 2026 D—04 · Revenue 10 min
Every Product Has a Hidden Economy
Most teams design features. They're actually designing exchange rates — whether they know it or not.
- May 2026 D—02 · Apps 11 min
Magic Gets the First Try. Progression Gets the Second Week.
Most AI products have a wow moment. Very few have a reason to come back tomorrow.
- May 2026 D—01 · Gaming 8 min
Event Debt: When Live Ops Stops Amplifying and Starts Replacing
Most live games don't collapse suddenly. They accumulate event debt — until a normal Tuesday exposes it.
- May 2026 D—02 · Apps 6 min
The Play Effect
Attention is not an asset you capture once and celebrate. In an era of infinite AI content, the advantage goes to the businesses people willingly return to.
- Apr 2026 D—04 · Revenue 3 min
Most Monetization Problems Are Timing Problems
An offer that appears before the player cares about what it protects will underperform however well it is priced. Fix the sequencing before the surface.
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