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Do Indie devs use analytics?

A topic by amolkhugshal created Dec 19, 2024 Views: 1,616 Replies: 26
Viewing posts 1 to 12
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Hey all, I am trying to make a game, but before that, I just wanted to know—do indie developers use any kind of analytics software to track their games? Or is it just "vibes"? 
What should I do?

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Itch actually displays analytics from the Dashboard.

Moderator

You mean like the traffic stats on itch.io / your own website, or in-game telemetry?

I mean what about I want to take this game to app stores? then are there any recommendations for analytics tools?

Yeah, the itch analytics are worth looking at, especially where the clicks are coming from.  One project included a link to one of my games and was a good source of hits for a while.

Deleted 144 days ago
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I don't mind self-promotion when it answers an actual question, but please be up-front about it.  You're not recommending a third-party service you've used, you're promoting your own service.  Oh, and you're responding to a year-old thread.

Yeah, that's very shady and untrustworthy. I'm not ever gonna use a service that advertises itself that way because it is immediately obvious that the people running it don't have a single shred of professionalism.

Yeah, most indie devs definitely use analytics—especially if they’re making mobile or live games. Even simple analytics like session time, level completion rates, and where players drop off can make a huge difference when improving gameplay. It’s not just about numbers, it helps you understand what players actually enjoy and what frustrates them.

From my experience working on small mobile-style projects (like what we do on GameVerse by GameGenesis), analytics are super useful for spotting which mini-games people replay the most and which ones need tweaking. Even basic tools can give insights that help make the game more fun and keep players coming back 

It genuinely makes me angry to see your ChatGPT slop posts.

It's almost as bad as seeing your obvious AI slop game which you have the goddamn audacity to claim is AI-free, and which itch staff will never do anything about.

I hate sharing a community, a platform, a playing field with people like you. Genuinely hate it. 

Wow don't get so upset, mate 😅

Personally, I do check my analytics every now and then but there isn't too much actionable insight in there. Mostly, they're telling me that my main channel of communication (Mastodon) is largely ineffective for finding an audience.

Oh well.

I do not have any analytics besides what itch shows me. Tracking player behaviour in game just feels shady to me and, especially given the nature of my game, is not something I would be comfortable with.

I have a suspicion that visits from Mastodon sites aren’t counted. Do you want to test this with me? Because the stats have looked off for a while now.

I could follow your itch.io link on Mastodon and poked around both signed in and signed out, then you could check if any visits show up in your analytics. l

No, I have a few visits from the Fediverse in my analytics so they aren't getting ignored. But thanks for the offer.

Yeah, one appeared immediately after I asked. Mastodonites just aren’t aren’t as interested in what’s on Itch.io.

They also may be more likely to use Do Not Track settings or similar - not sure how that affects itch metrics. Fediverse peeps tend to be pretty privacy minded.

Also, I doubt either of us gets thousands of impressions on their toots on Mastodon. So I'm not really comfortable in making definite statements about the CTR on Mastodon. I don't have any data to base such statements on. (And for the record, I think the lack of analytics on Mastodon is a good thing because it is a social network, not an advertising platform. I treat it as a platform where I can talk about my games with interested peeps but I try not to think of that as "advertising".)

As I said before. That’s why I’ll test out what Analytics picks up one of these days.

Still, there’s a lean toward moral stances there. Itch.io continues to promote X-Twitter, angered many gamers with its actions last year, and presents ads on download pages.

I figure the lack of posts about Itch.io in the Mastodon areas I hang around are an indicator, too. I post to #Itchio about once a month but seem to be one of the most active users of the tag. But me and server admins are wary of some of the biggest instances.

In the end, tho, there’s not enough info to know.

I agree that maintaining visitor privacy is good, actually.

I think analytics are useful if you want your game to grow beyond “just vibes.”

Even basic stuff like retention, session length, where players drop off, and where users are coming from can help you understand your audience better. It also lets you measure whether your marketing efforts are actually working instead of just guessing.

do indie developers use any kind of analytics software to track their games?

Yes.

Or is it just “vibes”?

That, too. Not everyone looks at analytics.

I check the Dashboard Analytics areas here on itch.io out mainly as a way of checking visibility or out of curiosity.

Tho, in general, I feel descriptive feedback is much more valuable than statistics are. Numbers don’t say why someone visits, plays the game, or downloads (or attempts to) multiple times. Do they enjoy playing it, or do they resent ever learning of the game after dealing with a bunch of crashes that only they experience?

What should I do?

Finish the game first.

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Google Analytics has been a huge help to me...

For example: thanks to it, I know which languages my visitors speak most, and that information helps me plan future translations.

For cross-store tracking, AppWatch (appwatch.dev) covers exactly that — itch.io, Google Play and App Store in one dashboard. No SDK needed, it pulls store-level data directly. Free tier for up to 3 apps if you want to try it.

I like the features but not the website

Any other alternates?

Thanks for checking it out! I'd genuinely love to know what put you off — design, the signup flow, something unclear? It's early stage and I'm actively improving it based on feedback like this.

As for alternatives: Appfigures covers App Store and Google Play but not itch.io. Nothing I know of covers all three in one place, which is why I built this.

If you tell me what didn't work for you I'll try to fix it.

Oh! You made the website! That's an amazing idea! I would like the user input text color to change, and some of the euro symbols were stretched.

Thanks so much for the feedback — this is exactly what I needed!

I've noted both issues: the input text color and the stretched euro symbols. I'll get those fixed this week.

If you want to try it again once those are sorted, the free tier covers up to 3 apps — no credit card needed. And if you spot anything else, just let me know. At this stage every bit of feedback directly shapes what gets built next.


Wrong language and duplicate sign in message.

Thanks I have fixed this issue, you need a valid email for access. I have implemented feedback button for sent issues found or sugest new features for all users.

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I will answer the vibes part of the question. When I first put up my demo it was very low res (very retro) and I only got a few pieces of feedback on reddit and some other forums that the story was well written. Mostly radio silence on the rest. I upped the resolution and quality of the artwork and practically everyone said I needed voice over. I added voice over and the feedback on it was a sense of relief on the part of the player.

If you get no signal back from players it means something is off. Look for the parts they do compliment (even if its just a handful of people) and immediately inverse. All that other positive feedback you're not getting? Work on that part.

I'm working on making the game play less on rails and have more reactive gameplay. This is because no one complimented those parts yet.

Hope this helps.