– New study of nearly 200 of mobile game industry leaders reveals the current challenges in keeping players engaged in 2026 –
80% of mobile game developers believe that the industry’s engagement and retention strategies are going stale, according to a new, in-depth survey of 195 mobile gaming industry leaders.
The Retention & Engagement Challenge study was commissioned by ZBD to better understand the current pain points in player retention and engagement while looking ahead at future growth levers.
With developers needing to reduce their reliance on UA, and megatrends like D2C reshaping profit margins, post-install player engagement is a growing opportunity to create incremental revenue. While the study shows there is a path forward, many games are using standardized engagement strategies and several other factors are also currently limiting innovation and growth
Gordon Thornton, CCO at ZBD, said:
“We are entering an era in mobile gaming where engagement and retention models are evolving. This is largely due to necessity rather than for the pure joy of innovation. Over the last decade, free-to-play monetization and engagement systems have been trialed and tweaked until a specific, consistent style was created. However, these practices worked so well that almost every major mobile game is using them and fatigue is starting to set in. It’s a familiar story for any fast-paced industry and a common sentiment that we’ve been hearing from our partners, and so we wanted to dig a layer deeper.
“With this report we aim to capture a snapshot of the mobile gaming industry as it currently stands in 2026 and provide a glimpse of what could come next.”
45% of developers are finding it difficult to retain and engage their spending players, while 39% shared difficulty tailoring experiences to different user segments. But the biggest concern is the more than half (51%) of developers who are struggling to balance monetization friction with a fun user experience. Subsequently, gains from existing engagement systems are starting to see diminishing returns and the opportunity to differentiate in a saturated market continues to be reduced.
The study also highlights that 50% of devs have increased their retention budgets over the past year and are looking to reshape their growth strategies by focusing on stronger personalized player experiences and integrating in-game reward systems with real-money rewards. While those who take risks to innovate can often seize first mover advantage, it’s notable that nearly 40% of developers state innovation is limited due to a fear of negatively impacting KPIs.
John Wright, CEO of Turborilla added:
“Mobile games can’t rely on buying growth forever. CPIs continue to rise, making retention the ‘new UA’ and the fastest path to scale, and increasingly about creating more value from players you’ve already acquired. The studios that win won’t be the ones with the biggest content calendars, but the ones that turn engagement, loyalty, and monetization into experiences players actively want to return to, time and time again.”
Key Findings from The Retention & Engagement Challenge
- The biggest pain points: 51% of mobile game developers are struggling to balance monetization friction with a fun user experience. 45% are finding it difficult to retain and engage their spending players. 39% report difficulty tailoring experiences to different user segments.
- Most impactful present strategies: 74% use lifecycle marketing (push notifications, email) and community & social features (in-game or external). 71% run LiveOps features, promotions, and events.
- Main factors limiting innovation: 40% cited constraints due to player expectations & behavior, 38% believe it’s a technical or infrastructure limitation, 37% are afraid of impacting their games current KPIs.
- What will drive the biggest future improvements: 45% said stronger personalization (AI-driven targeting or segmentation tools). 43% suggested in-game rewards & loyalty systems. 37% want better collaboration across product, monetization, and marketing teams.
- Rewards and Engagement: 90% of developers have already considered implementing in-game rewards systems (including real-money rewards) to improve their retention and engagement, with 31% actively testing it as a solution and 38% currently planning to implement it into their game.
- Budget plans: 50% of studios are increasing their retention and re-engagement budgets with 42% keeping it the same. This has resulted in 82% feeling very confident that they have the resources they need to successfully deliver on their retention and monetization goals.
The Retention & Engagement Challenge whitepaper is the start of ZBD’s long-term plans to regularly re-evaluate and monitor the changes around game growth and player engagement strategies. The current report: is available to download here.
