How to Measure the Success of Your Game Design

Achievement rates are a powerful tool for tracking and analyzing player engagement

I have recently been taking a closer look at the analytics that come with video games — more specifically, the achievement rates on games purchased via Steam. Looking at them has given me some insight into the hallmark of what truly makes a good game, and it has nothing to do with the number of reviews, accolades — or surprisingly — the number of sales. Today, I’m talking about player retention when it comes to single-player games, and what we can learn about how people continue to play (or quit) a game.

The Critical Contradiction

Before we begin, it’s important to mention that we’re not talking multiplayer or live service games in this article. Games that have further content added post-launch retain players differently than single-player experiences.

Developers and gamers alike are often quick to point out what they think is the metric for success with a game. Maybe a title had a huge opening week and sold millions of copies, maybe it won GOTY, or every YouTuber and streamer can’t stop talking about it. The problem with these metrics is that they don’t tell the story when it comes to something game developers need to know — did their…