Retention · all games
Daily streak
A reward that grows with each consecutive day a player returns, and resets or pauses if they miss a day.
Also called: login streak, daily login, daily login bonus, consecutive days
A daily streak counts how many days in a row a player has opened the game or claimed a reward. Each extra day makes the next reward bigger or moves the player toward a milestone, and missing a day usually resets the counter.
Streaks give players a reason to open the game every day, and the number itself becomes something they want to protect. Designers often explain this through loss aversion, the idea from prospect theory that a loss feels larger than an equal gain. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky set out prospect theory in 1979, and how strong loss aversion really is remains debated.
Some streaks include a safety net, such as a grace day or an item that protects the streak, so one missed day does not erase weeks of play.
In mobile games
On mobile, streaks usually show as a calendar or a row of days on a daily reward pop-up, with the current day highlighted and a larger prize on a milestone day. The prompt often arrives at the start of a session.
What to watch for
- A streak that punishes travel, illness or time zones. Define when a day starts, and consider a grace period.
- Making the streak the only reason to log in. A player who opens the game just to keep a number may not play, and daily opens alone do not show the game is working.
