Why do Players Stay?

In August of this year, Clash of Clans will turn 8 years old.  When Mobile F2P Games began over a decade ago, the conventional wisdom was that the lifespan of the games would last for 1-2 years at most.  New games were coming out all the time, many of them clones. And then you had the staggering rate of graphical upgrades and gameplay innovation that came with every new smartphone generation.  Given all of that, it was hard to imagine players still playing the same F2P Mobile game over half a decade later. And yet, some of them did and still do continue to play, as CoC’s upcoming birthday showcases.  

Reasons for why players play certain games and stick with them is hard to understand even in the best of times.  So let’s look at some of the motivations that keep players in a game for the long term. From being one of the most recognized players in one of the top Guilds on a server in a Strategy Game or RPG, to having restored most of the Garden or Home in a Puzzle game, players are tied to the games they play based on the motivations that drive them to play and excel in that game.  And it can take more than just the release of a new Game to get the players to switch over.

There are many reasons Players hold on to the games they are playing.  Here are some examples:

1. Building their Base (Clash of Clans)

2. Maxing out the Hero Roster (AFK Arena)

3. Having a Wonderful Garden Restored (Gardenscape)

4. Collecting over 300 Mounts (World of Warcraft)

5. Getting over Stage 3000 (Candy Crush)

6. Achieving that Perfect Deck (Clash Royale)

7. Having the Best Heroes in the Galaxy (Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes)

8. Showing off Skins others would die for (Fortnite)

9. Optiizing your Hero in a Roguelite Game (Archero)

10. When your Alliance is one of the Best in the Kingdom (Rise of Kingdoms)

All of these reasons are enough to explain why a Player sticks with the game they are playing for years (or over a decade when it comes to WoW).  This is not to say that new games can’t cannibalize or steal away players from existing games. But it’ll take more than just competition to pry Players from the games they love.

Next week I will go over reasons why Players DO decide to leave the games they love playing.  Thanks again for reading! You can find more of my posts in the ggDigest Newsletter. Subscribe to it at medium.com/ggdigest.  Until next time, and stay safe!

Jeff