CALL OF DUTY MOBILE | D1 RETENTION STRATEGY
ROLE
UX Strategist
TOOLS
Figma
LENGTH
2 Weeks
PROJECT
Day 1 Retention Analysis Document for Call of Duty Mobile
* This project was created in the Advanced UI/UX Course for Gaming at ELVTR.
** Any artwork shown here is the property of the Game Creators unless stated otherwise.
*** The analysis in this case study is based off of this walkthrough video which may not be the latest version of the game.
ANALYSIS METHODS
Watched walkthrough video of Call of Duty Mobile.
Length of session: 16 mins & 3 games.
Sources like reddit (for player feedback) & CoD Mobile Wiki to supplement information.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Game does a great job of introducing new players to gameplay controls and features. This is not always consistent throughout.
HIGH PRIORITY
CoD M does a great job of allowing the player to discover who they are and what they’re doing but needs to make clearer why they should care or give them a reason to keep playing beyond leveling up.
Great social component for retention. Can be improved further by rewarding players for social interactions.
MEDIUM PRIORITY
LOW PRIORITY
In-game loadout & Map Selection need better uninterrupted information display.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Continue the tutorial approach for every new feature introduced to players and slowly allow the tutorials to become more exploratory in higher levels.
HIGH PRIORITY
Give player a reason to play and care about the game by introducing narrative plotlines that weave with tutorials along with some cinematics.
Creating a trickle-down reward system when players join your party / login for the first time & creating exclusive rewards for playing multiplayer missions and achieving certain things as a team.
MEDIUM PRIORITY
Videos of environments to replace static thumbnails for maps. Difficulty level displayed under each thumbnail.
Do not interrupt first tutorial. Incentivize use of loadout whenever new rewards or weapons are acquired.
LOW PRIORITY
EXPERIENCE GOALS
HIGH PRIORITY
Give players confidence in their abilities, increasing memorability of features.
Get players invested and emotionally attached to the game making repeat logins and returns more likely.
Lean on the social aspect of the game to increase player number, sessions played and length of sessions.
MEDIUM PRIORITY
Allow players to make decisions on maps and loadouts better and therefore be happier with the outcome.
LOW PRIORITY
GAMEPLAY CONTROLS
Excellent Tutorials Increase Retention
Excellent tutorials increase retention by giving players confidence in their abilities, increasing memorability of features.
THEORY
Current tutorials achieve experience goals by walking players through features, allowing them to instantly try them out, then immediately rewarding them for it and proceeding to repeat the actions until they become habit.
SITUATION
I propose that this UX is continued to be extended to all new features and in different in-game moments.
Allowing for more mistakes for advanced players as the game progresses.
These tutorials should weave in with the narrative whenever possible.
Examples of in-game contextual tips and tutorials can be seen in Hearthstone Mobile.
SOLUTION
GAMEPLAY NARRATIVE
Better Narratives Increase Player Investment
Better narratives allow players to become invested and emotionally attached to the game making repeat logins and returns more likely.
THEORY
Currently the game allows players to discover who they are in the game and what they’re supposed to do. However, it does not give them a reason for playing more (other than leveling up) or caring about coming back.
SITUATION
To increase retention and return players, the game should implement a stronger initial narrative that weaves in with the tutorials and adds a few cinematics to create a solid story.
This is done in games like Call of Duty 2 and Spiderman 2 successfully to meet those experience goals, where the story is told through gameplay.
SOLUTION
SOCIAL INCENTIVE
Increase Retention Through Social Rewards
Increasing social rewards will incentivize retention because many players find FPSs to be more fun with friends. Incentivizing group play with in-game rewards will give players a dual reward of fun play + extra items.
THEORY
The social (multiplayer) component to CoD M is fantastic and a great incentive for retention. Communication feature is vital for this but there are other ways we can incentivize group playing and spread of the game through social interactions.
SITUATION
Creating a trickle-down reward system when players join your party / login for the first time and reach or complete certain things. When a new player joins they get a reward but also the players who referred them.
Creating exclusive rewards for playing multiplayer missions and achieving certain things as a team can be another good incentive.
Other games have successfully implemented such a system like Fortnite, LoL, WoW, Warframe & Clash of Clans.
SOLUTION
BETTER DISPLAY OF INFORMATION
Loadout and Map Selection
Displaying information better for in-game loadout as well as map selection will help players make decisions better and therefore be happier with the outcome.
THEORY
Currently game only shows still pictures of the map for selection with no extra information and the loadout tutorial is interrupted with Battle Pass tutorial and players are infrequently reminded of its existence.
SITUATION
For the maps, quick videos of the environment that play automatically to replace the static thumbnail images will give players more information on the terrain to make an informed decision.
Difficulty level displayed under each thumbnail. Levels are determined by the amount of blind spots, hiding areas, etc.
For loadout, do not interrupt first tutorial with anything like Battle Passes.
Incentivize use of loadout whenever new rewards or weapons are acquired.
