66 percent of players stop playing free-to-play mobile phone games within the first 24 hours of launching the game for the first time, a new report by app testing firm Swrve has said.

Posted on Re/code, Swrve said its survey tracked over 10 million players over a 90-day period starting in November 2013. Over 30 titles were tracked, and Swrve's network includes major clients such as Activision, Epic Games, WB Games, Zeptolab, and Gameloft.

Swrve CEO Hugh Reynolds said that grabbing the attention of users is vital if they want to keep them engaged for more than 24 hours. “It's a bit like a first date," he said. “If it’s going to be effective, it needs to be effective quick.”

That's a bit of a sales pitch, mind: Swrve is a company established to help app makers maximize their in-app revenue, providing services such as in-app campaigns, push notifications, and UX and A/B testing. And free-to-play developer veteran Ben Cousins criticized Swrve on Twitter, accusing them of "trying to paint a depressing picture to sell [its] services."

According to Cousins, keeping 40 percent of your users into their second day "is the sign of a real hit" and that the numbers Swrve published are "totally normal" and "can drive success."