Lighthouse Studio conducts survey on user behavior regarding mobile game churn, retention, and return; over half of users experience 'early churn'
A survey by Lighthouse Studio reveals that over half of mobile game users quit within the first hour of play.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 28, 2026 at 16:19
- 🔍 Collected: March 28, 2026 at 21:59 (5h 40m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 15, 2026 at 06:52 (416h 53m after Collected)
Lighthouse Studio, a group company of CARTA HOLDINGS that operates the game media site 'Kamigame,' conducted a survey on 300 mobile game users nationwide regarding their habits concerning churn, retention, and returning to games.
The results show that 52.0% of respondents have experienced quitting a game within one hour, combining 'often' and 'sometimes' responses. The most common reason cited was 'the tutorial is too long' (25.3%), with 39.3% of users feeling that a tutorial is too long if it exceeds 10 minutes. 'Boredom' was the primary reason for long-term churn (38.3%), and opinions on returning to games were divided.
■ Survey Overview
Survey Period: January 28, 2026 – February 9, 2026
Target: Mobile game users nationwide
Method: Online survey
Respondents: 300
■ Key Findings
・52.0% of users have quit a new mobile game within one hour.
・Early churn within one hour is most common in 'Puzzle games' (22.3%) and 'RPGs' (19.7%).
・The most common reason for quitting within an hour is 'tutorial is too long' (25.3%).
・39.3% feel that a tutorial is too long if it lasts about 10 minutes.
・31.7% feel that daily missions taking about 20 minutes are a burden.
・44.0% have quit a mobile game they played for over a year.
・The biggest factor for long-term churn is 'boredom' (38.3%).
・39.3% stated they 'never return' to a game they have quit.
・Regarding returning to a game, 41.3% stated they 'do not require special features' to come back.
■ Survey Results
Approximately 50% have experienced 'churn within one hour'
When asked about the experience of uninstalling or stopping a new game within one hour of installation, 52.0% of respondents answered 'often' (14.3%) or 'sometimes' (37.7%).
Conversely, only 22.7% said they 'never' do this, suggesting that users decide whether to continue playing during the initial experience phase.
Early churn within one hour is concentrated in 'Puzzle games' and 'RPGs'