In this article, I’m going to go over what is infinite replayability and how to achieve it.
Of course, infinite replayability may not be necessary for a game to be successful, and a game with infinite replayability may not be successful either. However, it does help the game, and creates a better experience for the player.
What is Infinite Replayability?
Infinite replayability gives players a reason to rejoin your game. They never get bored of the game, and there is usually never an end to the game. That’s what makes the game “Infinite” - not having an end. Without it, players play your game once, and may not ever play it again, for they will have the exact same experience playing it the second time. Varying the actual gameplay creates infinite replayability. Players will never get bored of the game for too long before joining back to play again, which in turn means they will continue to spend robux on it, play it with friends, etc. Story games usually have no replayability, whilst sandbox games have the most replayability. Of course, infinite means that a player will play it until the day they die, which is impossible - they will always get bored of it eventually. This means that infinite replayability is impossible, but getting near it is what’s really important.
TLDR: Infinite replayability always gives a player a reason to rejoin the game.
Examples of Infinite Replayability
Games that have infinite replayability:
- Jailbreak
- Minecraft / Terraria
- Sim City and other city games
- No Man’s Sky (although not correctly implemented)
Games with limited replayability:
- Phantom Forces and other shooters
- Most Tycoons
- Apocalypse Rising and Deadmist
- CSGO
Games that do not have infinite replayability:
- Bioshock: Infinite and other story games
- Ghost Recon Wildlands
- Some Tycoons
Why is Infinite Replayability Important?
It is important because without it, games tend to drop off quickly in player count, and may not be successful solely due to lack of replayability. Higher player counts also means higher profit.
How to Achieve Infinite Replayability
1. Progression. Progession is important for infinite replayability, as it is rarely done when paired to the rest of the ways to achieve infinite replayability. Progression, or rewarding player’s gameplay permanently, is key for infinite replayability. Games like Apocalypse Rising have no permanent progression, for you lose everything when you die. Jailbreak has good progression, as you can earn cash to buy vehicles, apartments, etc.
2. Non-linear Gameplay. Non-linear Gameplay is important, because it creates unique game scenarios that never repeat. Games like Minecraft rarely repeat upon gameplay, due to procedurally generated maps and it’s sandbox mechanics. Gameplay that dynamically reacts to player’s actions and their environment is important for non-linearity. Rail shooters and story games, however, have no gameplay variation. Players will only play it once and never pick it up again, because of its linearity.
3. Player to Player Interaction. Pretty much 99% of all Roblox games have this, but it is important to cover. Player to player interaction is important because it amplifies gameplay variation, and allows players to play with their friends. For example, Call of Duty zombies. Playing alone can tend to have somewhat similar outcomes, and can get rather boring after a few games. On the contrary, playing with others online can create different situations based on other’s skill levels, and therefore create varying gameplay. Roleplay games thrive off of player to player interaction.
4. Continued Support from the Developers. Games where the developers have ditched the game or rarely updated can be bad for players who’ve played the game for a while. They can experience everything the game has to offer, and then choose to not play again. Of course, whenever developers update a game, player count tends rise as players see what content was added. Making sure that there is always a stream of fresh unseen content to your players will keep them coming back for more.
5. Leaderboards and Competition. Yeah, I was reluctant to add this one as it isn’t super important, but leaderboards create immense amount of competition when implemented right. Players get hooked on getting a better place on the leaderboard, and making it to the top. I’ve experienced it myself, and I’m sure you have as well.
What to Avoid when Applying Infinite Replayability
There are plenty of successful games that don’t have infinite replayability. Some people love the games I’ve listed under having no replayability, and they find replayability in it because the rest of the game is so enjoying.
There are also plenty of unsuccessful games that do have infinite replayability. For Example, No Man’s Sky. Their biggest mistake was not correctly implementing infinite replayability. Their procedural planets and animals had little variation, and planets tend to have very few biomes. Basically, the entire planet would be the same. And every planet around it would also be the same.
Big thanks to darkhero149 for helping me make my first devforums article.
I hope this article helped, I might add onto this article in the future 
