Overview

Before launching in India, the studio wanted to know: would this energetic territory-capturing shooter actually resonate with Indian gamers?

Lysto ran a 5-day longitudinal playtest to uncover not just how players reacted on Day 1—but whether they still wanted to return on Day 5.

The results gave deep insight into player psychology: what they liked, what made them pause, and what could drive long-term success—or early churn helping the studio take a call on continuing to invest in the game.

Challenge

The studio needed to answer:

• Would the game feel fresh, engaging, and competitive to Indian mobile gamers?

• Which player segments responded differently to difficulty, visuals, or progression?

• What factors influenced churn by Day 5—and how could they be fixed?

Using Lysto's Advanced Player Targeting, we recruited 30 players across Tier 1 and Tier 2 Indian cities, ages 18–24, with a 40% female / 60% male split, targeting casual-to-midcore mobile PvP gamers.

Precise player targeting is core to ensuring studios get exact insights. Lysto has large network of engaged gamers across genres through communities, influencers and tournaments - ensuring that studios' requirements across age, gender and ability to spend are matched.

Lysto's Playtest Strategy

Using our Advanced Player Targeting system, we sourced players who:

• Had prior experience with games like Brawl Stars, Squad Busters, and Dye Hard

• Owned Android devices ₹20,000+

• Played mobile games 5–7+ hours per week

Each player:

• Completed 5 consecutive days of gameplay

• Logged daily session feedback through structured surveys

• Was tracked for retention intent, feature engagement, and friction points

This approach revealed not only what players said they felt, but what changed across sessions—and why.

What is Longitudinal Playtesting?
Unlike single-session testing, longitudinal playtesting tracks the same players over multiple days. This reveals how engagement and perception evolve over time, which features create stickiness, and where fatigue or frustration build.

Players weren’t told that they had the option to stop participating after day 2, since this approach often tends to lead to steep drop-offs and loss of valuable player engagement data. 

Instead, they received daily reminders on the Lysto playtesting app about completing each day’s playtest and survey. At the end of each day’s survey, they were asked if they would have continued playing the game if they weren’t in a playtest. This question served as a proxy to assess player churn potential and its causes. 

Key Findings

1. High initial engagement, but content fatigue emerged

• Day 1: 83% said they’d keep playing post-session

• Day 2: Dip to 67% (with rising concerns around repetition and lag)

• Day 4: Rebounded to 100% retention intent

• Day 5: Fell slightly to 73%; 7% said they’d stop

2. Younger players stayed hooked, older players grew critical

• Under 20: Consistent positivity, low friction

• Age 21–24: Increasing complaints about repetition, lack of challenge, unclear feedback

3. Males rated higher than females throughout

• Men gave stronger Day 4–5 endorsement

• Women flagged unclear UI, slow controls, and visual overload earlier

4. Top positives:

• Core territory-capturing loop and match pace

• Quick 3–4 min sessions ideal for on-the-go play

• Vibrant art style and hero abilities

• Progression curve from Day 3 onward

5. Major friction points:

• Repetitive modes and limited variety

• Tutorial didn’t clarify key mechanics (energy, match results, abilities)

• Lag, crashes, and overheating due to VPN routing

• Unclear if players were matched with bots or real users

6. Visuals and audio polarized players

• Some loved the vibrant palette; others found it childish or over-saturated

• Music described as out of context and jarring

  
  

Impact Delivered

Design & Content Recommendations:

• Introduce more game modes, map rotation, and varied progression paths

• Offer difficulty settings or skill-based matchmaking to balance challenge

Onboarding & Clarity Fixes:

• Update tutorial to explain energy, match outcomes, and hero strategies

• Surface progression elements earlier to retain curiosity

Technical & UX Enhancements:

• Address performance issues on mid-tier devices

• Optimize responsiveness of control buttons (especially movement + ability)

• Allow users to customize UI scale or reduce visual noise

Conclusion

This 5-day longitudinal playtest showed the game’s potential to resonate with Indian audiences—especially among younger, high-frequency mobile gamers. But it also revealed that long-term stickiness depends on addressing repetition, tutorial gaps, and technical instability.

With precise player targeting and evolving sentiment tracking, Lysto helped the studio separate early excitement from enduring engagement—and define what success in the Indian market will truly take.

When it comes to localising for retention, the first impression is only the beginning.If you’re a game publisher or developer with a title in the pre-production stage, want help to test concepts, or simply have any questions on how a playtest can improve your chances of a successful game, let’s talk.