Communities double a game's lifespan - study

Research conducted by Raptr suggests gamers tend to hang around twice as long for developers who actively engage with their player base.

As reported by Polygon, Raptr found that things like in-game community events, user-generated content and modding tools, tournaments, live streaming and loyalty programs keep punters interested in particular games for up to twice as long.

Portal 2, League of Legens and ArmA 2 were listed as exemplary community-as-a-service games.

"If you take a community-as-a-service approach, the focus is on creating a relationship with a player over time, but getting a game in front of a user is the beginning of that. When approached in the right way, the model contributes to the success of the business, and feels like a good will gesture for gamers," Raptr CEO Dennis Fong said.

"In order to do this properly, companies need to provide services to the player that build trust over a long term and integrate community as a core idea from day one. They need to provide real services to the community that players can actually use."