  Retaining players over an extended period of time is a long-standing
challenge in game industry. Significant effort has been paid to understanding
what motivates players enjoy games. While individuals may have varying reasons
to play or abandon a game at different stages within the game, previous studies
have looked at the retention problem from a snapshot view. This study, by
analyzing in-game logs of 51,104 distinct individuals in an online multiplayer
game, uniquely offers a multifaceted view of the retention problem over the
players' virtual life phases. We find that key indicators of longevity change
with the game level. Achievement features are important for players at the
initial to the advanced phases, yet social features become the most predictive
of longevity once players reach the highest level offered by the game. These
findings have theoretical and practical implications for designing online games
that are adaptive to meeting the players' needs.
