DAU and MAU
Also said as Daily active users, Monthly active users, Stickiness, DAU/MAU
How many different people played on a given day, and in the last 30 days. Dividing the first by the second gives a rough idea of how often people come back.
They are the headline numbers, and they are easy to flatter: ad-bought installs lift both, and MAU falls slowly. Ask how "active" is defined, since each company picks its own. A growing DAU can hide a shrinking game, one with worse retention and more ad spend.
Say it
“Stop reporting total installs at the monthly review. Show DAU split by cohort, so we can see if new players are staying or if ad spend is holding the line up.”
Not to be confused with installs
Installs count how many people ever tried it. DAU counts who played today. A game with ten million installs can have nobody playing.