PlaytestCloud's built-in survey tool works great for most playtests and surveys. But when you need more advanced features, you can easily connect your favorite external survey tools with PlaytestCloud too.
Before you read on, take a look at our integration guides to see if we already have a dedicated guide for the tool you're using, such as Alchemer, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Typeform, or Forsta Survey.
No luck? No worries. Most survey tools, including ones built in-house, can be integrated with PlaytestCloud with relatively low effort. And if you successfully integrate a commercial tool we don't have documentation for yet, let us know! We'd be happy to create a dedicated guide based on your experience to help other users.
Overview: How the integration works
The tracking process
When players participate in surveys on PlaytestCloud, we track two key events:
When they start the survey
When they complete the survey
This tracking is essential for:
Ensuring we invite enough players to each playtest and survey
Verifying survey completion to award player rewards
How tracking works
With PlaytestCloud's internal surveys: This functionality is built into our platform and works automatically.
With external survey tools: We use a URL-based tracking system that works in two steps:
From PlaytestCloud to your survey:
Each player receives a unique survey link containing a special tracking parameter
Additional demographic data (age, gender, country, first name) is also included in the URL
These parameters help you correlate survey responses with the player's gameplay video and can reduce the number of demographic questions in your survey
From your survey back to PlaytestCloud:
After completion, your survey tool must redirect the player back to PlaytestCloud
This redirect URL must include the original tracking parameter
This final step is crucial for our system to register the player's survey completion and award their reward
This two-way communication ensures accurate tracking across both platforms while maintaining a seamless experience for players.
Step 1: Receiving the tracking parameter and demographics data
IMPORTANT: The participation_info parameter is unique for each player and must be captured from the incoming URL and later included in the redirect back to PlaytestCloud.
When a player accesses your survey from PlaytestCloud, we include a special tracking parameter called participation_info in the URL. This parameter:
Contains a unique identifier specific to each individual player
Includes alphanumeric and special characters
Should be treated as opaque text (not human-readable)
Must be stored exactly as received without modification
We provide two variants of this parameter to accommodate different survey tools:
participation_info- standard formatparticipationinfo- alternative format without underscores
Both contain identical data, and you can use either version when redirecting back to us.
Player identification parameters
In addition to the essential participation_info parameter, we also include additional data to identify and track player response data between systems. Storing this data can be helpful to diagnose integration issues or when working with PlaytestCloud's support.
We strongly recommend storing the participation_id value to:
Correlate survey responses to specific players
Track player progress across multiple surveys in longitudinal or multi-session playtests
Facilitate troubleshooting with our support team
If your playtest has multiple target audience groups (available as a custom request on certain subscription plans), our team can provide you with the bucket_id for each audience segment. This allows you to:
Group responses by audience segment
Customize survey questions based on the audience segment
Filter analysis by different player groups
Parameter | Alternative | Description | Example |
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| Unique participation identifier |
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| Numerical identifier of the target audience group this player is part of |
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Note: Don't confuse participation_id (the player identifier) with participation_info (the tracking parameter that must be passed back to PlaytestCloud).
Demographics data
Along with the tracking parameters, we also pass player demographics through the URL. Capturing this data is optional and not required for the tracking functionality to work correctly. However, using this data can:
Reduce the number of demographic questions in your survey
Simplify analysis by using standardized demographic categories
Parameter | Alternative | Description | Example |
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| Player's age |
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| Country of residence |
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| Player's nationality |
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| Player's gender |
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| Player's first name |
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| Weekly gaming time in hours (self reported by player) |
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Tip: If you're planning to ask players for demographic information that is already included in these parameters, we recommend using our provided data instead to reduce survey length and minimize player fatigue.
Example URL with parameters
Here's how a typical incoming URL might look:
https://www.example.com/game-survey?age=37&country=United%20States&first_name=Mike&gender=male&participation_id=23606&bucket_id=1234&participation_info=BAhJIhIyMzYwNjoxNzM3MDYzBjoGRVQ%3D--f197222adb6fe5196d6be1739cd48301fa7469c3
Your survey tool needs to:
Extract and store the
participation_infovalue when the player arrivesInclude this exact value in the redirect URL when the player completes the survey
Optionally store
participation_idto correlate survey responses with player videos
Common integration mistakes to avoid
❌ DO NOT hardcode the example participation_info value from this guide
Each player has their own unique value that must be captured and used.
❌ DO NOT modify the participation_info parameter in any way
It must be passed back exactly as received, including all special characters.
❌ DO NOT forget to include the redirect back to PlaytestCloud
Without the redirect, we cannot track survey completion.
❌ DO NOT discard the participation_id value
This helps correlate survey responses with specific player videos.
Step 2: Redirect players to PlaytestCloud
Automatic redirection is critical
After players complete your survey, they must be automatically redirected back to PlaytestCloud with the tracking information. This step is essential for:
Confirming survey completion in our system
Awarding player rewards
Accurately measuring completion rates
Redirect requirements
Timing: The redirect must happen automatically after the player submits the final survey page
Method: Use an automatic redirect, not a "click here to continue" button or manual link
Parameter: The redirect URL must include the exact
participation_infovalue captured from the incoming URL
Redirect URL format
Use one of these two formats, depending on your survey tool's support for underscores:
Standard format (preferred):
https://www.playtestcloud.com/process_steps/external_survey_complete?participation_info=[Content of participation_info]
Alternative format (if your survey tool doesn't support underscores):
https://www.playtestcloud.com/process_steps/external_survey_complete?participationinfo=[Content of participationinfo]
Implementation example
If a player arrived with this participation_info value:
BAhJIhIyMzYwNjoxNzM3MDYzBjoGRVQ%3D--f197222adb6fe5196d6be1739cd48301fa7469c3
The correct redirect URL would be:
https://www.playtestcloud.com/process_steps/external_survey_complete?participation_info=BAhJIhIyMzYwNjoxNzM3MDYzBjoGRVQ%3D--f197222adb6fe5196d6be1739cd48301fa7469c3
Common redirection mistakes to avoid
❌ DO NOT show a "Thank You" page without automatic redirect
Players may close their browser, preventing completion tracking.
❌ DO NOT use a manual "Click here to finish" button
Many players will ignore it, resulting in survey completions not getting tracked, which will lead to complaints by players.
❌ DO NOT modify the participation_info value in any way
Even small changes will prevent proper tracking.
Testing your integration
Before launching your survey, verify that your integration works correctly using our built-in testing tool:
Access the testing tool:
Log into your PlaytestCloud account
Go to "New Playtest" and select "Survey Only"
Or use this direct link: https://app.playtestcloud.com/playtests/new_survey
Set up the test:
Submit your survey URL in the field provided
Confirm privacy compliance by checking the required boxes
Click the "Start testing" button
Complete the test:
The testing tool will open your survey with valid URL parameters
Complete the survey as a player would
Submit your responses at the end
Verify the successful redirect
If your integration is working properly, you'll be automatically redirected to PlaytestCloud and will see a confirmation message indicating successful completion
This confirms that both the parameter passing and redirect are functioning correctly
If the redirect fails or you don't see the confirmation message, review your implementation for the common mistakes listed above.
Questions?
If you or your technical team has questions about integrating with PlaytestCloud, we're here to help!
Contact us with your questions, and our team will be happy to assist you with your integration.