Why we stopped chasing app installs and doubled down on the browser

Every growth playbook for a games site says the same thing: get the app install. Build the app, buy the installs, push the notifications, and watch retention climb. We tried that logic, ran the numbers, and then did the opposite. We stopped chasing app installs and doubled down on the browser instead. Here is why, and what we learned from a portal that serves tens of thousands of games to people who never install anything.

The install is a wall, not a funnel

An app install asks a stranger for a lot: storage space, a password, a permission screen, and trust. Most people who click a game link do not want a relationship with a games company. They want ten minutes of fun, right now, in the tab they already have open.

Every step between click and play loses people. Our own experience matches what every web developer already knows: the browser removes almost all of those steps. Click, load, play.…