My mobile game D1 retention is very low while session length is very long. What does that mean?

I released a mobile game just a few days ago and around 100 people played it.

D1 retention is around 11.9%

But session length is very high with median being ~16 minutes and average being ~41 minutes

Some players even played for up to 4 hours straight in one session!

This's not that surprising for a business simulator game because we like to grind but I don't know why retention is so low I'm getting mixed signals..

I don't know what that means.. This's my first game and I don't know how to read these analytics to be honest.

I don't know if the results may be skewed due to me posting the game to wrong audience sometimes? It seems that some people like it so much they play for so long on first session. But also I didn't get any reviews that says I love the game or anything. Someone told my that "you made a great thing" and someone told me excitedly "I played for 3 hours straight" but that's it. And only one person joined the discord server. Yet 5 people out of 100 actually bought the lifetime pro IAP!

As I said this's my first game and I have no clue weather I'm onto something or these are just false positives. I'm not confident about the game as well. I can't tell if it's good or bad but I think I became numb after so much playtesting (I enjoyed it) and now can't tell if it's still fun anymore.

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u/Simple-Power8205 — 3 days ago

I tried to build the "everything business simulator game" as a software dev with no experience in games. 10 months and a complete rewrite by hand after trying the AI slop, I finally finished my dream simulator and I’m proud of it!

Sorry if I make any weird grammar mistakes here, English isn't my first language.

I am a software engineer by trade, and I started with exactly zero experience in game development. About ten months ago I was just messing around on my phone, tapping through the businessman career track in Bitlife. It was fun for a minute, but I remember closing the app feeling kind of disappointed. I kept thinking, man, why is there no sandbox game that actually goes deep into this? Like, a game where you have to build the real, boring, complicated infrastructure of a company.

Because I write code for a living, I had that typical blind developer confidence. I literally told myself, "I can build a better version of this in two months. Easy."

That was a massive delusion, and it led to my biggest mistake.

I wanted to skip the hard parts, so I leaned heavily on AI to write the code and logic. I thought I was cheating the timeline. But by month three, I hit a brick wall. The codebase was a giant, bloated nightmare. And honestly? The game had absolutely no soul. It was pure AI slop. It felt like playing a spreadsheet that was built by a robot who didn't understand what fun is.

My head was full of these big ideas. I wanted to build the "everything game" for business simulation. I wanted angel investors, scaling friction, personal stocks, factories, airlines. Everything. But the reality was I couldn't even make a basic game loop work. I had days where I just stared at my messy screen, feeling so burned out and frustrated. It was hard to admit, but I finally realized my game design instincts were just terrible. I was blindly trusting beginner's luck, and I was failing.

So I made a really painful choice. I highlighted like 90% of that AI code and I just hit delete. Started from scratch.

I banned AI from my game code entirely. I forced myself to actually study game design, to learn what makes a loop feel rewarding. Yes, it was hard, but it was my dream game and I wanted it to exist no matter what it took. The next seven months were just a brutal, daily fight against burnout. I wrote every single system and mechanic myself, line by line. I only let myself use AI for some visual assets and store screenshots, because graphic design is definitely not in my skillset.

Today, ten months later instead of two, it's finally live on Android. I couldn't be prouder.

I'm a software guy, so my eyes are trained to look at clean, structured data. Because of that, the game visuals look a lot like a sleek productivity app, not gonna lie. But underneath that simple interface is a really deep simulation. I poured my actual soul into it.

In Bizworld, you don't just watch numbers go up. You build companies using these modular blocks, and every block changes the operational logic of how things work. If you get too greedy and grow too fast, your company will literally collapse under its own administrative weight. You can manage gyms, restaurants, factories, or airlines. You can go pitch to VCs for funding, or take your cash and risk it all in the stock and real estate markets.

For months, I was trapped in this fantasy of the game going viral and becoming a huge hit. But standing here today, I actually don't care about that anymore. The real win for me is just the product itself. I finally broke my old bad habit of leaving projects unfinished. I beat the temptation to use lazy AI shortcuts, and I built a complex thing completely by hand.

It’s out now on Android. I’m genuinely excited to see how you guys will break my simulation and what kind of crazy strategies you come up with. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Google Play Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 4 days ago

I tried to build the "everything business simulator game" as a software dev with no experience in games. 10 months and a complete rewrite by hand after trying the AI slop, I finally finished my dream simulator and I’m proud of it!

Sorry if I make any weird grammar mistakes here, English isn't my first language.

I am a software engineer by trade, and I started with exactly zero experience in game development. About ten months ago I was just messing around on my phone, tapping through the businessman career track in Bitlife. It was fun for a minute, but I remember closing the app feeling kind of disappointed. I kept thinking, man, why is there no sandbox game that actually goes deep into this? Like, a game where you have to build the real, boring, complicated infrastructure of a company.

Because I write code for a living, I had that typical blind developer confidence. I literally told myself, "I can build a better version of this in two months. Easy."

That was a massive delusion, and it led to my biggest mistake.

I wanted to skip the hard parts, so I leaned heavily on AI to write the code and logic. I thought I was cheating the timeline. But by month three, I hit a brick wall. The codebase was a giant, bloated nightmare. And honestly? The game had absolutely no soul. It was pure AI slop. It felt like playing a spreadsheet that was built by a robot who didn't understand what fun is.

My head was full of these big ideas. I wanted to build the "everything game" for business simulation. I wanted angel investors, scaling friction, personal stocks, factories, airlines. Everything. But the reality was I couldn't even make a basic game loop work. I had days where I just stared at my messy screen, feeling so burned out and frustrated. It was hard to admit, but I finally realized my game design instincts were just terrible. I was blindly trusting beginner's luck, and I was failing.

So I made a really painful choice. I highlighted like 90% of that AI code and I just hit delete. Started from scratch.

I banned AI from my game code entirely. I forced myself to actually study game design, to learn what makes a loop feel rewarding. Yes, it was hard, but it was my dream game and I wanted it to exist no matter what it took. The next seven months were just a brutal, daily fight against burnout. I wrote every single system and mechanic myself, line by line. I only let myself use AI for some visual assets and store screenshots, because graphic design is definitely not in my skillset.

Today, ten months later instead of two, it's finally live on Android. I couldn't be prouder.

I'm a software guy, so my eyes are trained to look at clean, structured data. Because of that, the game visuals look a lot like a sleek productivity app, not gonna lie. But underneath that simple interface is a really deep simulation. I poured my actual soul into it.

In Bizworld, you don't just watch numbers go up. You build companies using these modular blocks, and every block changes the operational logic of how things work. If you get too greedy and grow too fast, your company will literally collapse under its own administrative weight. You can manage gyms, restaurants, factories, or airlines. You can go pitch to VCs for funding, or take your cash and risk it all in the stock and real estate markets.

For months, I was trapped in this fantasy of the game going viral and becoming a huge hit. But standing here today, I actually don't care about that anymore. The real win for me is just the product itself. I finally broke my old bad habit of leaving projects unfinished. I beat the temptation to use lazy AI shortcuts, and I built a complex thing completely by hand.

It’s out now on Android. I’m genuinely excited to see how you guys will break my simulation and what kind of crazy strategies you come up with. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Google Play Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 4 days ago

I tried to build the "everything business simulator game" as a software dev with no experience in games. 10 months and a complete rewrite by hand after trying the AI slop, I finally finished my dream simulator and I’m proud of it!

Sorry if I make any weird grammar mistakes here, English isn't my first language.

I am a software engineer by trade, and I started with exactly zero experience in game development. About ten months ago I was just messing around on my phone, tapping through the businessman career track in Bitlife. It was fun for a minute, but I remember closing the app feeling kind of disappointed. I kept thinking, man, why is there no sandbox game that actually goes deep into this? Like, a game where you have to build the real, boring, complicated infrastructure of a company.

Because I write code for a living, I had that typical blind developer confidence. I literally told myself, "I can build a better version of this in two months. Easy."

That was a massive delusion, and it led to my biggest mistake.

I wanted to skip the hard parts, so I leaned heavily on AI to write the code and logic. I thought I was cheating the timeline. But by month three, I hit a brick wall. The codebase was a giant, bloated nightmare. And honestly? The game had absolutely no soul. It was pure AI slop. It felt like playing a spreadsheet that was built by a robot who didn't understand what fun is.

My head was full of these big ideas. I wanted to build the "everything game" for business simulation. I wanted angel investors, scaling friction, personal stocks, factories, airlines. Everything. But the reality was I couldn't even make a basic game loop work. I had days where I just stared at my messy screen, feeling so burned out and frustrated. It was hard to admit, but I finally realized my game design instincts were just terrible. I was blindly trusting beginner's luck, and I was failing.

So I made a really painful choice. I highlighted like 90% of that AI code and I just hit delete. Started from scratch.

I banned AI from my game code entirely. I forced myself to actually study game design, to learn what makes a loop feel rewarding. Yes, it was hard, but it was my dream game and I wanted it to exist no matter what it took. The next seven months were just a brutal, daily fight against burnout. I wrote every single system and mechanic myself, line by line. I only let myself use AI for some visual assets and store screenshots, because graphic design is definitely not in my skillset.

Today, ten months later instead of two, it's finally live on Android. I couldn't be prouder.

I'm a software guy, so my eyes are trained to look at clean, structured data. Because of that, the game visuals look a lot like a sleek productivity app, not gonna lie. But underneath that simple interface is a really deep simulation. I poured my actual soul into it.

In Bizworld, you don't just watch numbers go up. You build companies using these modular blocks, and every block changes the operational logic of how things work. If you get too greedy and grow too fast, your company will literally collapse under its own administrative weight. You can manage gyms, restaurants, factories, or airlines. You can go pitch to VCs for funding, or take your cash and risk it all in the stock and real estate markets.

For months, I was trapped in this fantasy of the game going viral and becoming a huge hit. But standing here today, I actually don't care about that anymore. The real win for me is just the product itself. I finally broke my old bad habit of leaving projects unfinished. I beat the temptation to use lazy AI shortcuts, and I built a complex thing completely by hand.

It’s out now on Android. I’m genuinely excited to see how you guys will break my simulation and what kind of crazy strategies you come up with. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Google Play Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 4 days ago

I tried to build the "everything business simulator game" as a software dev with zero experience in games. 10 months and a complete rewrite without AI, I finally finished my dream simulator and I’m proud of it!

Sorry if I make any weird grammar mistakes here, English isn't my first language.

I am a software engineer by trade, and I started with exactly zero experience in game development. About ten months ago I was just messing around on my phone, tapping through the businessman career track in Bitlife. It was fun for a minute, but I remember closing the app feeling kind of disappointed. I kept thinking, man, why is there no sandbox game that actually goes deep into this? Like, a game where you have to build the real, boring, complicated infrastructure of a company.

Because I write code for a living, I had that typical blind developer confidence. I literally told myself, "I can build a better version of this in two months. Easy."

That was a massive delusion, and it led to my biggest mistake.

I wanted to skip the hard parts, so I leaned heavily on AI to write the code and logic. I thought I was cheating the timeline. But by month three, I hit a brick wall. The codebase was a giant, bloated nightmare. And honestly? The game had absolutely no soul. It was pure AI slop. It felt like playing a spreadsheet that was built by a robot who didn't understand what fun is.

My head was full of these big ideas. I wanted to build the "everything game" for business simulation. I wanted angel investors, scaling friction, personal stocks, factories, airlines. Everything. But the reality was I couldn't even make a basic game loop work. I had days where I just stared at my messy screen, feeling so burned out and frustrated. It was hard to admit, but I finally realized my game design instincts were just terrible. I was blindly trusting beginner's luck, and I was failing.

So I made a really painful choice. I highlighted like 90% of that AI code and I just hit delete. Started from scratch.

I banned AI from my game code entirely. I forced myself to actually study game design, to learn what makes a loop feel rewarding. Yes, it was hard, but it was my dream game and I wanted it to exist no matter what it took. The next seven months were just a brutal, daily fight against burnout. I wrote every single system and mechanic myself, line by line. I only let myself use AI for some visual assets and store screenshots, because graphic design is definitely not in my skillset.

Today, ten months later instead of two, it's finally live on Android. I couldn't be prouder.

I'm a software guy, so my eyes are trained to look at clean, structured data. Because of that, the game visuals look a lot like a sleek productivity app, not gonna lie. But underneath that simple interface is a really deep simulation. I poured my actual soul into it.

In Bizworld, you don't just watch numbers go up. You build companies using these modular blocks, and every block changes the operational logic of how things work. If you get too greedy and grow too fast, your company will literally collapse under its own administrative weight. You can manage gyms, restaurants, factories, or airlines. You can go pitch to VCs for funding, or take your cash and risk it all in the stock and real estate markets.

For months, I was trapped in this fantasy of the game going viral and becoming a huge hit. But standing here today, I actually don't care about that anymore. The real win for me is just the product itself. I finally broke my old bad habit of leaving projects unfinished. I beat the temptation to use lazy AI shortcuts, and I built a complex thing completely by hand.

It’s out now on Android. I’m genuinely excited to see how you guys will break my simulation and what kind of crazy strategies you come up with. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

u/Simple-Power8205 — 4 days ago

I've been working on this business simulator for the past year. Bizworld lets you build companies block by block, raise investment, expand into new industries, and experiment with different business strategies. I'd really appreciate any feedback!

Hi everyone!

I've been working solo on Bizworld for the past year, and it's my first ever attempt at making a game! Because it was my dream game and I was so delusional when building it haha.

So Bizworld is a business simulator sandbox where you create companies by assembling "Blocks" instead of simply upgrading stats or waiting for timers. Every block changes how your business works, so you're always making trade-offs rather than following the single best strategy.

Right now you can build businesses like restaurants, supermarkets, food factories, gyms, airlines, social media platforms, and a few more. You can also raise money from angel investors and VCs, sell successful companies, invest in stocks and real estate, improve your skills, make connections, and run multiple businesses at the same time.

Each business in the game has completely different feeling! Different blocks, different categories, and simply requires a different way of thinking to play!

The game is still in active development, and I'm mainly looking for feedback on the gameplay, progression, UI, and whether the concept is actually fun. I'd really appreciate any thoughts, criticism, or suggestions!

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 6 days ago

Bizworld: a business simulator game

Hi everyone!

I've been working solo on Bizworld for the past year, and it's my first ever attempt at making a game! Because it was my dream game and I was so delusional when building it haha.

So Bizworld is a business simulator sandbox where you create companies by assembling "Blocks" instead of simply upgrading stats or waiting for timers. Every block changes how your business works, so you're always making trade-offs rather than following the single best strategy.

Right now you can build businesses like restaurants, supermarkets, food factories, gyms, airlines, social media platforms, and a few more. You can also raise money from angel investors and VCs, sell successful companies, invest in stocks and real estate, improve your skills, make connections, and run multiple businesses at the same time.

Each business in the game has completely different feeling! Different blocks, different categories, and simply requires a different way of thinking to play!

The game is still in active development, and I'm mainly looking for feedback on the gameplay, progression, UI, and whether the concept is actually fun. I'd really appreciate any thoughts, criticism, or suggestions!

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 6 days ago

[DEV] I've been working on this business simulator for the past year. Bizworld lets you build companies block by block, raise investment, expand into new industries, and experiment with different business strategies. I'd really appreciate any feedback!

Hi everyone!

I've been working solo on Bizworld for the past year, and it's my first ever attempt at making a game! Because it was my dream game and I was so delusional when building it haha.

So Bizworld is a business simulator sandbox where you create companies by assembling "Blocks" instead of simply upgrading stats or waiting for timers. Every block changes how your business works, so you're always making trade-offs rather than following the single best strategy.

Right now you can build businesses like restaurants, supermarkets, food factories, gyms, airlines, social media platforms, and a few more. You can also raise money from angel investors and VCs, sell successful companies, invest in stocks and real estate, improve your skills, make connections, and run multiple businesses at the same time.

Each business in the game has completely different feeling! Different blocks, different categories, and simply requires a different way of thinking to play!

The game is still in active development, and I'm mainly looking for feedback on the gameplay, progression, UI, and whether the concept is actually fun. I'd really appreciate any thoughts, criticism, or suggestions!

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 6 days ago

عملت اول قرش ليا من النت!

امبارح نزلت لعبة جديدة للأندرويد كنت شغال عليها بقالي شهور اسمها

Bizworld - Business Simulator

اللعبة فيها اعلانات (خفيفة مش كتير خالص) وفيها اشتراك برو لفتح كل المحتوى وتعطيل الإعلانات ب2.99 دولار لسه محدش اشتراه

الحمدلله لحد دلوقتي عملت 7 قروش من الإعلانات امبارح كان قرش وانهارده 6 قروش والدوبامين في السما ❤️

اللعبة فكرتها محاكاة للبزنس بس فيها انواع بزنس كتير مختلفة عن بعضها مثلا شركة طيران، سوبرماركت، منصة سوشيال ميديا وكل بزنس من دول بيشتغل بطريقة مختلفة كأنه لعبة تانية وتقدر تمتلك اقدر من بزنس وتقدر تجيب استثمار لشركتك وعامل برضه محاكاة للسكيلز والعلاقات وكدا وكمان في محاكاة بسيطة لسوق الأسهم والعقارات والكريبتو

مشكلتي حاليا ان مش عارف اعمل تسويق بشكل قوي والبلاي ستور مش بيرشح اللعبة لناس كتير يمكن عشان لسه نازله مش عارف

تعديل: جماعة في واحد من ايطاليا اشترى الاشتراك ب2.99 دولار 🤯
تعديل 2: تاني يوم واحد تاني من امريكا اشترى الاشتراك 🤯

u/Simple-Power8205 — 6 days ago

Bizworld: sandbox business simulator. Every business plays differently!

Game Title:
Bizworld

Playable Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

Platform:
Android

Description:
Bizworld is a business-building simulation where you create companies by assembling modular "Blocks" instead of simply increasing stats or waiting for timers. Every block you add changes how the business operates, creating different strategies and trade-offs. Grow too aggressively and your company may struggle under the weight of complexity, or play it safe and build a smaller but more stable business. You can start multiple companies, raise funding from Angel Investors and VCs, sell successful businesses, invest in stocks and real estate, improve your skills and relationships, and experiment with many different approaches. There isn't a single optimal strategy—different business configurations lead to different outcomes. The current version includes businesses such as restaurants, supermarkets, food factories, gyms, social media platforms, airlines, and more. The game is still in active development, and I'm looking for feedback on the gameplay, progression, UI, and overall concept.

Free to Play Status:
[X] Free to play

[ ] Demo/Key available

[ ] Paid

Involvement:
I'm the solo developer. I designed the gameplay systems, programmed the game, created the UI, balanced the mechanics, and continue to add new businesses, features, and content based on player feedback.

u/Simple-Power8205 — 7 days ago

يمكن انا معملتش ستارتب بس عملت لعبة بتعمل فيها ستارتب - اقدملكم Bizworld

عملت لعبة موبايل عن بناء الشركات..

بدأت أشتغل على لعبة اسمها Bizworld وفكرتها مختلفة شوية عن ألعاب البزنس المعتادة

بدل ما يبقى الهدف إنك تزود الأرقام وخلاص انت بتبني الشركة نفسها من أجزاء (اسمها في اللعبة بلوكس) وكل قرار بيغير طريقة شغلها. ممكن تكبر بسرعة وتنجح أو تكبر أسرع من اللازم والشركة تبدأ تقع تحت ضغط التعقيد او حتى تقرر تفضل صغير ومتخاطرش عشان شركتك تكبر.

في اللعبة تقدر:

  • تبني أكتر من شركة
  • تجيب مستثمرين (Angel Investors وVCs)
  • تبيع الشركة بعد ما تكبر
  • تستثمر في الأسهم والعقارات
  • تطور مهاراتك وعلاقاتك
  • وتجرب استراتيجيات مختلفة من غير ما يبقى فيه Build واحد هو الصح.
  • كل شركة في اللعبة طريقة تشغيلها مختلفة عن التانية
  • امثلة على الشركات الموجودة حاليا: مصنع اكل، مطعم، سوبرماركت، جيم، بلاتفورم سوشيال ميديا، شركة طيران، الخ

دي شوية سكرينشوتس من النسخة الحالية للعبة وحابب اعرف ايه اول انطباع ليكم

هي حاليا متاحة للأندرويد بس لكن لو حققت نجاح مبدئي هنشرها على IOS فورا.

اللينك:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ahmedhossam02.bizworld

u/Simple-Power8205 — 7 days ago
▲ 22 r/Egypt

سعر البيض بينزل في المغرب برضه. ايه الحكاية ولا ضياء العوضي بقى انترناشونال؟

تايتل

u/Simple-Power8205 — 14 days ago