Choosing Reward Points vs a Progression Program for a casual game launch

For a first game hub launch in a casual game, we generally recommend starting with a time-limited Progression Program instead of launching a full Reward Points store immediately.

When Reward Points work best

Reward Points are usually most effective when at least one of the following is true:

• There are desirable items players can save up for.
• The program is used as a classic cashback mechanic, typically 5%+.
• The game has enough consumable sinks that players can regularly spend cashback instead of relying on discounts.

Recommendation for casual or puzzle-style economies

For casual games, especially with a puzzle-oriented economy, a full loyalty shop is often harder to balance and evaluate at launch. In these cases, it is usually better to:

• launch a 2-week Progression Program first;
• reuse the format later for events and holidays;
• treat it as a more controlled and testable first loyalty mechanic.

This approach is generally easier to manage and simpler to validate than introducing a permanent virtual-currency store on day one.

If you still want to test virtual currency

If you want to validate accumulation behavior early, you can launch a temporary virtual currency (a custom reward currency with your own name and icon) as a short event-style activity, for example for 2 weeks. This can help test player engagement before committing to a permanent loyalty store.

Practical launch guidance

• Start with Progression Program if you want a simpler, more measurable first launch.
• Use Reward Points cashback only if you already have a clear spend loop or savings goal.
• Test custom virtual currency temporarily if you want to explore loyalty mechanics without fully launching a permanent store.