Cohort Analysis
A method that groups players by a shared start point — usually sign-up or first-deposit month — and tracks each group's behaviour over time.
Definition
Instead of looking at all players at once, cohort analysis follows each intake group (a 'cohort') across its lifetime, so metrics like retention, deposits and revenue can be compared week-by-week or month-by-month from the same starting line. This separates the effect of when a player joined from broader trends, revealing whether product or marketing changes actually improved the experience for newer players. A classic output is a retention curve or triangle showing what percentage of each cohort is still active N months later. Operators also use cohorts to estimate lifetime value and payback period before a full lifecycle has played out.
Worked example
The January first-deposit cohort might retain 40% of players at month one and 18% at month six; comparing it with the April cohort shows whether a redesigned welcome journey improved early retention.
Why it matters
For a learner, it teaches you to compare like-with-like over time rather than averaging everything together. For a professional, it is the backbone of retention and LTV forecasting and of judging whether an intervention actually worked.