Gaming Habits: Creating Behavior Loops to Increase Engagement

Today, I want to talk about how user habits are formed in games, how this process works, how to manage it, and how to instill the right habits in your audience.

Let’s turn to human nature.

Researchers claim that over 40% of our daily actions are performed automatically, and the influence of habits on this process is enormous. The reality is that the initial decision that led to the formation of a habit was made long before we began regularly repeating a certain action—whether it’s brushing our teeth, a late-night trip to the fridge, buying a pastry at the nearby bakery, or making our first visit to a casino. These actions, triggered by feelings of loneliness, boredom, fear, or stress, resulted in the release of endorphins or physiological satisfaction, laying the foundation for the habit loop: cue, action, and reward. Over time, the connection between the cue and the expected reward becomes so strong that there’s an overwhelming desire to repeat the habitual action, leading to dependency.

Habits are routine actions performed automatically and often unconsciously. They are shaped by our environment, past experiences, and social influences. Duhigg claims that habits have a strong impact on both individuals and society, influencing everything from personal health and well-being to success in business and social change.

This tendency of the human brain to constantly seek satisfaction is actively exploited in marketing, where products and services are created to either become part of existing habits or form new ones. A modern example of influencing habits is the widespread adoption of food delivery through mobile apps. This practice has radically changed how people in cities approach food, offering convenience and instant gratification that has become an integral part of daily life. The marketing task is to integrate the product into this habit loop by using triggers such as personalized notifications, easy app navigation, or exclusive deals that encourage regular orders and create a sense of comfort and satisfaction.

Habits in games

It’s hard to overestimate the power of habit in games, especially in terms of retention and conversion to paying users, which eventually leads to turning small spenders into high-value customers or "whales."

The very first step in creating the habit of coming back to the game is daily rewards. The habit loop is built quickly, and the reward is received immediately. It’s crucial for the first positive effect to be instantaneous so the brain understands that the action is easy and the dopamine rush has already occurred. Another excellent example is daily quests, which are slightly more complex regarding actions required but offer significantly higher rewards. Here, we can clearly see how habits layer: you log in and claim a reward, complete a few dailies and receive prizes, and then purchase a special offer—ideally a personalized one. By doing this, the habit of returning and completing specific actions is established, leaving only the final barrier—payment, which can be overcome through personalization and increasing the perceived value of offers over time.

The same applies to habits related to purchasing outside the game. If users know they will always get more value through a particular payment method, they will continue to use it. A great example is the Web Monetization services offered by companies like Xsolla, Coda, Razer, and others, which provide web payment solutions for mobile games. When launching Web Monetization, it’s important to create a consumption loop, link it to subsequent actions, and eventually establish a chain of habits that create a sense of value. Users will always return because they know they’ll get the best deals, which completely changes their payment behavior in the game’s favor.

The process of forming habits in online games goes through several key stages: identifying and regularly performing specific actions, reinforcing the habit through consistency and variety, and then maintaining the habit by making it a part of everyday life with minimal effort. The effect of habits can be enhanced through rewards, training the brain with new situations, and using additional stimuli. An important aspect is also the support from the user’s environment.

How does the habit loop work?

The habit loop is a cycle consisting of four stages:

• Cue (a noticeable trigger)
• Craving (the desire to take action)
• Response (ease of action and lack of variability)
• Reward (satisfaction—receiving a reward greater than the effort spent)

This loop can repeat endlessly, and each new cycle strengthens the habit.

Essentially, this loop is divided into two phases:

• The problem phase, where we perceive a cue and develop a craving
• The solution phase, where we respond (take action) and receive a reward in return

Let’s break down the cycle using daily rewards as an example:

1. I log into the game and see a notification.
2. I feel the desire to open the notification and see what’s inside.
3. I click the notification.
4. I receive a free item and see a message that if I return tomorrow, I’ll get another reward.

If we want to change or instill a new behavior in users, we should ask ourselves:

• How can we make it obvious?
• How can we make it attractive?
• How can we make it easy?
• How can we ensure it satisfies the user?

The consumption spiral

Purchasing a new item often creates a consumption spiral, leading to more purchases. This pattern can be seen across many areas of life. When someone buys a new phone, it often triggers a chain of purchases: a case, screen protector, headphones, chargers—all these accessories seem essential for protecting and enhancing the phone’s functionality. Moreover, there’s a desire to buy wireless chargers, power banks, and other gadgets that make using the phone more convenient and enjoyable. This process doesn’t stop with one purchase; it expands into an entire ecosystem of devices and accessories.

The same happens when buying a gaming console. It starts with the console itself, but soon there’s the need to buy games, service subscriptions, controllers, headsets, and possibly even VR headsets or other peripherals. If a new game version or a special edition comes out, gamers feel compelled to spend more to stay up to date with the latest trends and opportunities.

A similar cycle is observed in the fitness world. When someone first decides to get into fitness and starts going to the gym, they may think that a membership is enough. However, they soon realize that they need special workout clothes, shoes, a water bottle, a gym bag, and headphones. Over time, their list of purchases grows to include fitness trackers, smartwatches, protein supplements, workout equipment, foam rollers, and other necessary accessories to achieve their fitness goals. As their commitment to fitness increases, these purchases can become regular, forming a new cycle of consumption.

This same principle applies to any new hobby or passion. When you start photography, you buy not just a camera but lenses, tripods, bags, memory cards, and much more. If you take up painting, you need not only paints and brushes but also various types of paper, easels, palettes, and other tools. Each major purchase or new hobby initiates a series of additional purchases, creating a consumption cycle.

Marketing in such situations thrives on building and reinforcing these consumer chains, offering "essential" add-ons that seamlessly follow any major purchase or habit.

Habit stacking

Habit stacking increases the chances of instilling a new habit (your desired action) by layering it onto an existing behavior and complementing it. This process should be repeated, combining several habits, with each acting as a trigger for the next. Let’s explore how this works in more detail within free-to-play games.

How to use habits to improve game metrics?

It’s relatively straightforward to apply this knowledge to your game. Plan the sequence of actions, think about how to merge multiple habits, and figure out how to strengthen them.

For example, let’s say you want to increase the conversion rate for a specific stage of a long-term event in your game. How could you achieve this? You need to give the player an incentive to log into your game daily. You can use daily rewards, daily quests, leaderboard updates, or something else that requires minimal effort but provides a significant incentive for the user to return.

Once you've succeeded in getting the player to log in daily, the next step is to attract them to the event. This can be done by giving them a simple quest with an instant reward. The reward can be small, but it must pique their interest. For example, "Complete one stage of the event and receive a reward." Make this quest a daily task, and you’ll have established the desired habit.

After attracting the players to the event, the next goal is to guide them through to the target stage. It may not happen immediately, but if you can repeat the first two actions consistently, you’re more likely to achieve the desired result.

As the habit loop is repeated, each cycle strengthens the habit, and the layering of habits amplifies the effect.

How habits grow stronger

As each cycle of the habit loop is completed, the habit becomes stronger. This effect is amplified when habits are stacked. But how can we tell when the habit is strong enough? Typically, you can see it in the metrics: if a user performs the same action for, say, 20 days, it’s likely they will continue doing it. Payment behavior works similarly, though the dynamics are a bit different. Each subsequent purchase becomes easier, as described in a this one article, and you’ll see this reflected in analytics. Look for repeat purchases within a certain period, such as a month.

How do you determine which habits to form in users?

It’s simple: the outcome of each habit should be tied to a clear metric or a set of metrics that positively impact your product. Ideally, you should set not only the target metrics but also secondary metrics to ensure that, for example, an increase in average check size doesn’t negatively impact overall revenue.

How to combine habits effectively?

It’s quite simple—combining habits should follow a logical flow based on your customer journey map (CJM). It’s important to ensure that the chain of actions is logical and fits into familiar consumption patterns and best practices while being efficient. You should layer habits on top of each other to create a flow that helps the user achieve their goals while also addressing the developer's objectives.

A good example of habit stacking is Warcraft Rumble.

The game pushes you with daily rewards every day. Then, it gets you used to logging in daily, and in the case of bonuses, even every 4 hours. Of course, we don’t log in exactly on the hour, but still, we do it more often than we otherwise might.

And to keep you engaged even longer, it adds highly rewarding quest chains and tasks for winning at specific levels.

Once you’ve gotten used to logging into the game daily, claiming daily rewards, completing rewarding quests, and progressing through quest chains, it’s time to start selling. Initially, there are simple offers—affordable ones—but the key is to get started. Then personalization kicks in, better offers appear, and periodically, at the start of a new season, you buy an exclusive offer with a new hero that isn’t yet available to the general public. By that point, you’ve gotten used to it and want to stay on top, so you make the purchase.

It’s also worth mentioning G.R.I.D., which you need to roll to get heroes, mobs, and experience.

This is just one example of habit stacking, of which there are many in games. Habits play a key role in user behavior, and their proper formation can significantly impact the success of your product. In-game marketing, as in any other field, it’s important to understand how people make decisions and why they return to certain actions. With carefully designed habit loops, you can guide your users, encouraging them to repeat actions and increasing their engagement with your product.

The example of daily rewards and quests in games illustrates how simple mechanisms can lay the foundation for long-term loyalty. These habits start with small, frequent actions, gradually drawing the user deeper into the game. The marketing goal is not just to attract users to their first interaction with the product but also to ensure they continue using it through a system of rewards and consistent incentives.

By utilizing the habit loop—cue, craving, response, and reward—game developers and marketers can shape user behavior, offering not just a product but an entire experience that becomes an integral part of the player’s daily routine. This not only helps retain the audience but also transforms their behavior, making engagement with the product regular and, ultimately, monetizable.

When forming strategies, it’s essential to consider habit stacking—when one habit reinforces another, amplifying the overall effect. This approach works not only in games but also in other areas such as mobile apps, fitness, or purchasing new technology. The key to success is consistency, stimulation, and timely rewards that satisfy the user’s needs and create additional value for them.