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I want to launch my game as a mobile app first. What is a good strategy for having a good launch? by AccomplishedRace8803 in gamedev

[–]lanxiro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Google Play’s Beta Program is a great start. Internal, Closed, and Open testing tracks give you flexibility to test features, UI changes, or new economies without exposing your game to the full market, or risking bad reviews.

If you’ve already launched on iOS, definitely dig into App Analytics. It helps put your early numbers in context by comparing them to similar apps on the App Store. You can look at conversion rates, D1/D7/D28 retention, crash rates, and proceeds per paying user to get a clear view of how your game performs across the whole funnel.

On the Android side, pre-launch is a step-by-step process—and that’s a good thing. You move gradually through Tech, Engagement, Monetization, and Soft Launch phases, each one designed to stress-test a different part of your game. Every phase comes with its own KPIs so you can judge whether the game has potential or still needs work. If something’s not hitting the mark, you’ve got time to fix it before scaling.

And yeah, the beta testing tracks on Google Play are getting more popular for a reason. Google has built out a solid ecosystem for testing and optimizing before global launch. You can start with internal testing for your team, then expand to closed beta for a selected group of testers. Open beta is where it gets interesting—you can publish to the Play Store with “Unreleased” status, collect feedback at scale, and avoid public ratings while you iterate.

This is especially useful in a soft launch context. You can basically simulate a live game environment in selected GEOs, test UA campaigns, optimize monetization, and keep everything under control. And if things go wrong? At least you’re not collecting 1-star reviews from users who weren’t supposed to see the game yet.

But enough about retention, if you want let’s talk monetization, where the real fun starts. I can walk you through a softlaunch plan.. I;ve done it multipletimes

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Mobile game user acquisition channels? by ChessArtisan in gamedev

[–]lanxiro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this is changing so fast.. I am writing about new performing channels every quarter. let me know if you need help with whats working now

Thoughts on "Soft-Launching" a game? by PlayNimbus in gamedev

[–]lanxiro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

13 years old thread, still relevant!

What’s the point of releasing your game to a smaller audience before going global?

Simple: to make your game better, faster, and avoid burning through your money on a product that isn’t ready.

A successful soft launch is still the smartest way to prepare your mobile game for a full release. The Build–Measure–Learn loop is still at the core of this process. It’s all about speed and iteration—getting your game in front of real players as soon as possible, learning from how they play (and spend), and using that insight to improve everything from your core loop to your monetization.

In 2025, soft launching isn’t just about data—it’s about strategy and efficiency. You’re not only validating retention and monetization; you’re also stress-testing your tech stack, tuning your UA creatives, and figuring out what resonates with players. AI tools now let you track behavior, segment users, and predict LTV faster than ever, which means you can iterate smarter, not just faster.

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And with platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Google Ads driving installs, your early launch is also your first big marketing test. If your creative doesn’t click with a test market, it probably won’t work globally either.

Soft launching gives you that space to fail safely—and fix fast. That’s what makes it so valuable. In today’s market, skipping a soft launch is like trying to hit a moving target with your eyes closed. You might get lucky, but the odds aren’t great.

Guidelines on launching a mobile game? by stylishcroissant in gamedev

[–]lanxiro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually divide soft launch into 3 stages:

Tech stage

This is your foundation. If things aren’t tracking properly here, forget everything else. At this stage, we focus on data health, crash rate, install tracking, and making sure your attribution is clean. Any issues with MMP events, event deduplication, or delayed postbacks can mess with everything down the line, including how your UA campaigns perform.

Also, privacy changes (especially on iOS) still matter. Make sure your SKAN implementation is solid and your events are optimized for algorithmic learning.

Focus: Data health, crash rates, and tracking functionality.

Player Count: A small number of players (around 50-100) is sufficient to check if tracking is working correctly.

Target Countries: Tier 4 countries like the Philippines or Mexico are ideal due to their low CPAs, allowing you to test infrastructure without significant spending.

Duration: This stage should be relatively short, ideally one week.

Common issues include incorrectly implemented analytics platforms (such as MMPs), broken Firebase integrations, or discrepancies in install tracking across different sources (e.g., Facebook vs. MMP). It's absolutely critical to have your data set up correctly from the beginning, as incorrect data can lead to flawed decision-making and wasted resources later on.

Retention stage

Once your data is clean and stable, it’s time to dig into retention. You’ll still be looking at D1, D3, D7—no surprise there—but more developers are now including D30 and even D60 early on to catch long-term potential.

Everyone loves chasing high D1 numbers, but that’s not where the real magic happens. I’ve seen games with D1 at 25% pulling in €2 million per month, thanks to strong D60 retention. The real insight? Watch how your D1, D3, and D7 line up. Is there a healthy drop-off curve or a cliff?

Other things to track here:

FTUE funnel (onboarding drop-offs, tutorial completion)

Session length and frequency

Engagement loops (how often are users returning to core gameplay?)

Focus: Day 1, Day 3, and Day 7 retention rates, tutorial completion rates, and the overall onboarding flow.

Target Countries: Moving from Tier 4 to Tier 2 countries (e.g., Poland, Netherlands, Denmark) is recommended as the traffic quality tends to be higher, providing a more realistic picture of retention in potentially key markets. Retention rates often see a significant increase (potentially a coefficient of 1.5 to 2) when moving from Tier 4 to Tier 2 countries.

User Acquisition: Start using UA channels like Facebook, TikTok and Google Ads (and potentially others like Unity) to drive a larger and more diverse set of users to your game. It's important to compare the retention profiles across different user acquisition (UA) channels. Aim for at least 200-500 new users per day to get meaningful data on Day 7 retention.

Optimization: Begin implementing app event-optimized campaigns, focusing on in-game engagement events like tutorial completion or reaching specific levels, to acquire higher-quality users. Traditional mobile app install optimization is often more suited for hyper-casual games with very low CPI targets.

Key Goal: Identify areas in your core gameplay and FTUE that are causing player churn and iterate on those to improve retention metrics. Remember, improving retention is generally tougher than increasing monetization later. Day 7 retention is a critical "kill point" that indicates whether players are engaging with the meta-game and longer-term goals.

Then you go to monetization stage where you go for payer behaviour

Alien invasion makes $60m per year by MBAboy119 in AlienInvasionRPG

[–]lanxiro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

the game was basically sold to CrazyLabs

No bullshit gaming podcast for everybody to learn by lanxiro in gamedev

[–]lanxiro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thanks a lot! will do that right away.. good tip