How We Helped an RPG Increase Day 7 Retention by 29%
A midcore RPG developer had strong installs but weak retention. Players were leaving after the first session. The studio came to SBC to fix early engagement and unlock better monetization.
+29%
Day‑7 retention
+19%
ARPU
+25%
LTV
Overview
The client is a midcore RPG developer running a story‑driven fantasy game with long character progression systems.
The studio was already investing heavily in paid acquisition. However, the real growth challenge was player engagement. Long‑term monetization depended on players continuing to play beyond the first few sessions.
Challenge
While campaigns delivered installs, many players stopped playing early.
New users entered the game world but did not immediately feel connected to the story or characters.
Day‑7 retention stayed low
Fewer players reached deeper progression stages
ARPU remained below potential
Increasing ad spend would only bring more users who churned quickly. The real problem was early player engagement.
What We Did
AI‑Driven Onboarding
A personalized onboarding experience was created using adaptive character dialogue that reacted to player choices.
Gamified Notifications
Push notifications were redesigned as quests reminding players about unfinished progress and rewarding them for returning.
Emotional Engagement Systems
Streak bonuses and daily challenges encouraged habit formation and tapped into players’ fear of missing out.
Results
higher Day‑7 retention
higher ARPU
higher lifetime value
With stronger engagement, the studio confidently scaled acquisition budgets from $500k to $2M per month.
Improve Game Retention
SBC helps studios improve retention and scale acquisition.
