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The total amount of money a single player will ever spend on your game.
Lifetime value is the predicted total revenue a player generates from the moment they install a game until they stop playing. It encompasses in-app purchases, ad revenue, subscription fees, and any other monetization. LTV is the counterpart to user acquisition cost, and the fundamental equation of free-to-play business is simple: LTV must exceed UAC, or you are burning money. Studios obsess over this number because it determines how much they can afford to spend on marketing and how aggressively they need to monetize.
Example
In mobile gaming, a casual puzzle game might have an average LTV of $1 to $3, while a mid-core strategy game could hit $15 to $30. At the extreme end, gacha games like Fate/Grand Order have whales with individual LTVs exceeding $10,000. The entire game design often optimizes around pushing this number higher.
Why it matters
LTV is the reason free-to-play games are designed the way they are. Every progression gate, every limited-time offer, every difficulty spike near a shop button exists to increase this number. Understanding LTV helps you see the invisible hand guiding every design decision in monetized games.
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