In 'Zoran's Update', experienced games manager Zoran Roso comments on current industry topics on LinkedIn, speaking from the heart for many in the industry. GamesMarkt is now republishing the update with Zoran's consent. This time's topic: Why 90% of Games Falter During User Onboarding.
The math is simple: LTV/CAC > 1. But you can't solve that equation if you're sending your traffic into a black box. We see it happen every release cycle. A studio pours its budget into a high-octane marketing campaign. The assets are gorgeous, the trailer views skyrocket, and the hype builds. And then... silence.
The statistics are brutal: 90% of games falter during their user onboarding. Why? Because most developers and publishers are obsessing over the wrong metric (views) and sending their traffic to the wrong place (Steam). If you are a Publishing and Marketing Professional, you know that hope is not a strategy. Mathematics is.
The Golden Formula: LTV/CAC > 1
If you can prove that for every $1.00 you spend on acquiring a player, you generate $1.01 in lifetime value, you have won. You have unlimited scalability. But here is the problem: You cannot measure, let alone optimize, that equation if your funnel is a black box. Here is why your current strategy might be failing, and how to build a gamified funnel that actually scales.
Steam is an incredible distribution platform, but it is a terrible landing page for your paid campaigns. When you send a user directly from a Facebook ad or a TikTok influencer to your Steam page, you are effectively flying blind.
First, while Steam does allow UTM link tracking, which you should absolutely be using to identify where your traffic comes from, it doesn't allow for much more. It remains a "Black Box" for deep user data. Adding to this, a little-talked-about fact is the significant signal loss on Steam, which can be up to 70%, meaning only as little as 30% of user actions and traffic are tracked correctly.
Second, you have no retargeting capabilities. If a user visits via a UTM link and leaves (which 95% will do on the first visit), they are gone forever because you didn't capture their contact info. Finally, you create an algorithm dependency, renting your audience from Valve rather than owning the relationship yourself.
You need a landing page between the ad and the store. You need to own the data.
We are in the gaming industry, so why does our marketing often feel like filling out tax forms?
Your funnel should feel like the first level of your game. It must be absolutely frictionless, rewarding, and designed to capture three distinct assets from every user: Wishlists (Intent), Community Growth (Discord/Socials), and Contact Permissions (Email).
Here is how you structure a funnel that potentially creates a 3-4x uplift:
Friction is the enemy of conversion. Every extra second a user spends thinking "What do I do next?" is a second they are likely to bounce.
To fix this, adopt a "One Page, One Goal" philosophy. Your landing page is not a wiki; remove the navigation bar and kill the external links. Focus on a single, clear action target. Furthermore, avoid the "feature graveyard." Players convert on high-impact art, videos, and GIFs, not text-heavy design documents.
Critically, you must apply the "3-Second Rule." A user should understand exactly what the reward is and how to get it immediately. When they click that CTA button, do not make them type. Use one-click social logins (Google/Apple/Steam). The moment they click, you have their email and their consent without them typing a single letter.
Once they are logged in, do not show a static confirmation page. Instead, show a Progress Bar. Humans are psychologically hardwired to complete incomplete patterns.
You can leverage this by presenting simple quests. For example, ask them to join your Discord to unlock an exclusive wallpaper, or Wishlist on Steam to unlock Beta Access. This turns a marketing request into a gameplay loop.
Rewards at each step are invaluable for maximum conversion. This leverages the psychological principle of reciprocity. If you give them a small win, a skin, a badge, or their name in the credits, immediately, they feel invested.
They are no longer just browsing; they are playing.
The secret sauce isn't just the gamification; it's the fact that each touchpoint multiplies your chances that an interested player becomes an active player.
When you own the funnel, you move beyond simple acquisition into Segmentation and Social Proof:
When you capture emails and activity history at signup, you stop treating all users the same. You can identify:
You can then send tailored messages to each group. You might send a "Creator Kit" to the influencers and a "Starter Pack" to the Whales, creating a personalized experience that Steam simply cannot offer.
By integrating your community feed into the funnel, you can highlight player-generated content. When a new user lands on your page and sees active community posts, fan art, or clips from "Creators," it builds immediate trust. This social proof is often the tipping point that converts a passive visitor into an active downloader.
A Steam Wishlist is a silent signal of interest. To prevent this interest from fading, it's crucial to actively engage your potential players across multiple communication channels like Email, Discord, X/Twitter, and Telegram. This consistent engagement keeps the lead warm and builds anticipation. Furthermore, you can incentivize specific actions, such as first logins (assuming of course that you can create unique IDs that you can control and utilize) or downloading a pre-launch client, by creating specific, fun challenges or offering small in-game rewards. This strategy ensures that on the critical launch day, your players are not just vaguely interested; they are primed, prepared, and ready to immediately jump into the game..
A great game without a great funnel is a tragedy.
Stop treating your onboarding like a barrier and start treating it like gameplay. Reward every click, track every interaction, and segment your audience so you are not held hostage by platform algorithms.
If your LTV/CAC is greater than 1, you don't just have a campaign; you have a business engine.
Zoran Roso stands as a highly influential veteran of the video game and entertainment industry, with a distinguished career spanning over 25 years in global publishing, marketing, and leadership roles. His professional journey includes serving in significant executive positions at some of the world's most recognizable gaming giants, including Rockstar Games/Take 2 Interactive, Activision Blizzard, and Sony PlayStation, where he was instrumental in the marketing and strategic positioning of flagship AAA franchises and brands. Most recently, he leveraged this extensive experience as the Global Publishing & Marketing Director at Tencent Games, a critical role focused on expanding the company's international reach and developing successful go-to-market strategies for its massive portfolio of internal and partner studios.
Now operating as the founder of ZR Consulting, Zoran continues to drive success in the industry by advising major global publishers and developers. His firm specializes in crafting winning strategies for international brand development, optimizing live service performance, and executing flawless launch plans across all major platforms, including console, PC, and mobile. An active figure in the global games community, his career is marked by a clear strategic vision and a successful track record in translating complex products into global commercial successes.
Contact details:
ZR Consulting
eMail: zoran.roso@zrconsulting.de
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoran-roso/
