How Much LTV Can UX Drive?
A lot. Depth of understanding and the ability to apply it is way more important than the effort required to ship.
Which sounds obvious, but it’s easy to think you’ve got past the simple fixes and need a heavy piece of analysis or new feature later in the game to drive Lifetime Value (LTV). Increasing LTV is the goal we’re asked about the most, and a lot of the time the first place to look is goals in the early progression.
What’s so compelling about them is they’ve been shown time and again to drive engagement, are a relatively simple piece of UX to add and have the potential to lift the entire retention curve. Which is exactly why we’re using them in our experiment with Fumb Games’ Bitcoin Miner.
Bitcoin Miner is a very cool idle game released in 2018. Growth really took off a few years later when Fumb collaborated with Fintech Zebedee to enable players to earn actual, real Bitcoin while they play.
In the game, players build a mine that earns small amounts of currency. Over time currency grows into an amount large enough for players to withdraw from the game, via their Zebedee wallet. Many familiar idle mechanics are present and the game earns well for the studio.
We talked about a couple of potential experiments. One being changing context over time, which can drive reliable spikes in engagement. A great example of this is the VIP Elevator in Nightclub Tycoon, an idle game by IterationOne we are also working on (write up coming soon).
Players get regular chances to unlock a celebrity visit to their club. Doing so accelerates progress as customers swarm to the bar to buy drinks, increasing the rate at which soft-currency is earned. This encourages players to upgrade their bar ahead of a VIP opportunity, take the opportunity when it comes and make the most of it once activated. It’s very compelling. And the VIPs are quite funny too (The Stone, lol):
In Bitcoin Miner we decided to attack their goal of lifting retention and LTV by starting at the start and experimenting with goals in the early progression. After an initial onboarding, players are ordinarily left to fend for themselves. In our experiment the team have added a series of 12 goals that lead players through more detailed elements of the game (numbers vary player to player):
Mine X gold
Unlock X new coins
Upgrade X coin to level X
Tap X coin powerups
Invest in X developments
Earn X chests
Open X chests
Collect X managers
Use the pickaxe to mine X gold
Activate X manager boosts
View the Piggy Bank
Activate X boosts
They have been added to the game via a simple UX change (current UX on the left below, test on the right, note the “Mission #2” banner in the middle of the HUD):
A relatively simple addition we think could have a big effect.
What’s exciting about this experiment is the potential for deeper learning it provides by using so many goals.
Will some types be more compelling than others?
Will the size of some be more compelling than others?
Will the strength of the effect vary through the series?
Will it lift the whole retention curve?
And therefore LTV?
We’ll share the results here.