Gaming Insights
Updated: Mar 3, 2026
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Gaming Insights is an analytics dashboard that gives you a detailed view of how players discover, engage with, and return to your Instant Game.
What Is Gaming Insights?
Gaming Insights aggregates data about your game’s performance into a single dashboard. It tracks:
- How many players are active in your game on a daily and monthly basis
- How well your game retains players over time
- How players find and enter your game
- How social features drive engagement
- How your game generates revenue
This data helps you answer critical questions like: Is my game growing? Are players coming back? Which entry points drive the most engagement? How does social sharing affect retention?
How to Access Gaming Insights
- Navigate to business.facebook.com/insights.
- Select your Instant Games app from the app selector.
- The Gaming Insights dashboard will load with an overview of your game’s performance.
You can also access Gaming Insights through the Facebook App Dashboard:
- Go to developers.facebook.com/apps.
- Select your app.
- Look for Gaming Insights or Analytics in the left navigation.
You need admin or developer access to the app to view insights data.
Key Metrics
Active Users
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
DAU (Daily Active Users) | The number of unique players who opened your game on a given day. |
MAU (Monthly Active Users) | The number of unique players who opened your game at least once in the past 30 days. |
DAU/MAU Ratio | The percentage of monthly users who play on any given day. A higher ratio indicates stronger daily engagement. A ratio above 20% is generally considered healthy for games. |
New Users | The number of players who opened your game for the first time on a given day. |
Retention
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
D1 Retention | The percentage of new players who return to your game the day after their first session. |
D7 Retention | The percentage of new players who return on day 7. |
D14 Retention | The percentage of new players who return on day 14. |
D30 Retention | The percentage of new players who return on day 30. |
Retention is one of the most important metrics for game health. Strong retention indicates that players find your game compelling enough to come back repeatedly. Industry benchmarks for casual games typically target D1 retention above 30%, though this varies by genre.
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
Shares | The number of times players shared your game or game content with friends. |
Social Installs | The number of new players who came from a friend’s share or invitation. |
Social Engagement Rate | The percentage of active players who engage with social features (sharing, inviting, or playing with friends). |
Social metrics are especially important for Instant Games because the platform is built around social discovery. Games with strong social mechanics tend to grow organically and have better retention.
Revenue
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
IAA Revenue | Revenue from in-app advertising (Audience Network ad placements). |
IAP Revenue | Revenue from in-app purchases. |
ARPDAU | Average revenue per daily active user. Calculated as total daily revenue divided by DAU. |
Understanding Entry Point Definitions
Players can enter your Instant Game from multiple places across Facebook. Understanding where your players come from helps you optimize your distribution strategy.
Common Entry Points
- News Feed: Players discover your game through posts, shares, or ads in their News Feed.
- Game Tab / Gaming Hub: Players find your game by browsing the dedicated gaming section on Facebook.
- Messenger: Players launch your game from a conversation in Messenger, typically after receiving a game message or challenge from a friend.
- Notifications: Players return to your game after receiving a re-engagement notification (e.g., “Your friend beat your score!”).
- Direct Link: Players access your game through a direct URL or deep link.
- Bookmark: Players who have bookmarked your game launch it from their bookmarks.
Why Entry Points Matter
Different entry points have different characteristics:
- Players from social entry points (shares, Messenger, notifications) tend to have higher retention because they are entering with social context, often playing with or competing against a friend.
- Players from browse entry points (Game Tab) are actively looking for games to play and may have high initial engagement but need strong onboarding to retain.
- Players from paid entry points (ads) have acquisition costs that need to be recouped through monetization, making retention and LTV tracking essential.
By monitoring entry point performance in Gaming Insights, you can identify which channels drive the most valuable players and allocate resources accordingly.
Using Insights to Inform Game Design
Identify Drop-Off Points
If D1 retention is low, your onboarding experience may need improvement. Players who do not understand or enjoy the game in their first session are unlikely to return. Consider:
- Simplifying the first-time user experience
- Adding a tutorial that teaches core mechanics quickly
- Providing an early reward or achievement to hook the player
Evaluate Feature Impact
When you release a game update, use Gaming Insights to measure its effect on key metrics. Compare the period before and after the update:
- Did DAU increase or decrease?
- Did retention improve at D1, D7, or D30?
- Did social sharing increase?
- Did revenue per user change?
If social installs are low relative to your active user base, your sharing mechanics may not be compelling enough. Experiment with:
- More prominent share buttons at moments of achievement
- Competitive features like leaderboards and challenges
- Cooperative mechanics that require friends to participate
Segment Your Players
Use the breakdown features in Gaming Insights to segment players by:
- Platform: Desktop vs. mobile performance may differ significantly.
- Geography: Player behavior and monetization potential vary by region.
- Entry point: As described above, different entry points produce different player profiles.
Using Insights to Inform Marketing Decisions
Target High-Value Audiences
Use retention and revenue data to identify which demographics and regions produce the most valuable players. Feed this information into your Ads Manager campaigns to target similar audiences.
Measure Campaign Effectiveness
After launching a new acquisition campaign, monitor Gaming Insights for changes in:
- New user volume
- Retention rates for the new cohort
- Revenue metrics for the new cohort
If a campaign drives many new users but those users have poor retention, the campaign may be reaching the wrong audience.
Plan Content Updates
Use engagement trends to time your content updates. If you notice DAU declining, a new content release can re-engage lapsed players. Schedule updates to coincide with seasonal events or marketing pushes for maximum impact.
- Ads Manager - Run campaigns to acquire the players you are analyzing in Gaming Insights.
- Monetization Manager - Manage the ad placements that generate your IAA revenue.
- ROAS Measurement - Combine insights data with campaign spend data to measure return on investment.
- Retain Section - Learn strategies for improving player retention.
Social Activity