Retention Curve

A graph showing what percentage of players return to a game on each subsequent day after first play, the primary macro metric of game UX and product health.

In games, this means

Day-1 retention below 30% signals a broken first session. Day-7 below 10% signals a broken core loop or missing habit formation. Day-30 below 5% signals failure to establish long-term value. Reading retention curves in conjunction with funnel analysis and session recordings creates a complete picture of where and why the game is losing players at each time horizon.