eCPI: Effective cost per install
The average cost of each install, including organic installs the ads helped bring.
LTV: Lifetime value.
The total revenue a player is expected to bring over time.
LTV is lifetime value: the revenue an average player is expected to generate over their time in the game. It is compared with cost per install to decide how much to spend on acquisition.
How it is estimated
For a live game, LTV is built from retention and ARPDAU: the revenue a player brings per day, added up over the days they stay. For a new game, teams predict it from the first days of data, because waiting for a full lifetime takes too long.
How it is used
LTV is compared with eCPI. If LTV is comfortably higher than the cost of an install, paid campaigns can scale. If it is lower, they lose money. Teams also track the payback period: how many days until a group of players has earned back what it cost to acquire them.
Cautions
LTV is an estimate. It changes with country, platform and traffic source, so calculate it separately for each rather than trusting one blended number.
Related terms.
ARPDAU: Average revenue per daily active user
Revenue earned per active user on a given day.
Related services.
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