BYOP enables game studios to use PlaytestCloud’s proven infrastructure and recording software for playtesting with their own players. Instead of relying on PlaytestCloud's player panel, you can add anybody to your playtest via their email address!
Here's how to set up your first BYOP playtest:
We support both Android (shared via AAB & APK files or through Google Play) and iOS (shared through Apple TestFlight or the App Store) builds, prototypes and mobile browser playtests on both systems.
Upload or share your build and set up your playtest on our order form as if you were placing an order using PlaytestCloud’s player panel.
In the "Specify your target audience" section, select "Use your own testers".
Enter the email addresses of people you want to invite to the playtest in the box provided. On the Indie Pass you have 50 invites per month. You can also see how many invites you have available and how many have been used so far.
Important: On the Indie pass, your monthly limit is for the number of invites you can send out. This means that we will only count how many invites are sent out and not how many videos are received. A further implication of this, is that if you use the "Limit the amount of players" setting and set it to less than the number invites, we will still deduct the number of invites sent out from your monthly invites quota.
At the bottom under the "I have a special request" section be sure to let us know the playtest cut-off date (ie: the last day players can submit their playtest).
Once complete, go ahead and place the order. If there are any questions, our project management team will reach out to you within business hours (9am-7pm Berlin Time).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do I need to invite to get enough good videos?
In our experience you need to invite at least 5-10x as many people as you want to record at the end. We can limit how many people can start playing with the "Limit the amount of players" setting, so you can safely invite many more players and will still receive at most X videos at the end.
Do I need to sign an NDA with the players?
All players have to agree to an NDA with us before downloading the game. If you feel like you need extra protection, you can coordinate signing additional documents with them separately. We also can turn off our NDA if you already have one in place with your trusted panel.
Do I need to provide an incentive for players?
Not necessarily. If your players are very engaged with your game and the playtest is short, you might not need an incentive. Good, low cost incentive ideas are: in-game currency or being listed in the credits of the game as a playtester.
Can PlaytestCloud pay my players an incentive?
No, we currently can’t help with the incentive payments in BYOP playtests.
Can I playtest an iOS game/prototype?
No, iOS playtesting is only possible with PlaytestCloud’s own panel.
Can I use BYOP to run a longitudinal or multi-session study?
Yes, BYOP is available for all playtest types.
How fast will I receive my videos?
Unlike videos in our other playtests, BYOP videos aren’t being reviewed by our QA team. This means that you will receive your videos faster, as we will publish them after they finish uploading to our platform.
I have a question that isn’t listed here.
Please contact us at hello@playtestcloud.com. We’re happy to help.
Common issues
Players did not receive the invitation email
Sometimes our emails can get sent straight to spam. The players should check these places if they haven’t received an invitation (or any further communication) from us, to prevent the issue they can add help@playtestcloud.com to the list of contacts. Another possibility is they unsubscribed from PTC e-mails - if that’s the case, simply reach out to us, and help resolve the problem.
Players are unable to download the build
Sometimes, in order to download the build, players have to accept a device management setting which can be found in the “General settings” of their smartphone.
Players should also check if they have enough space on their device to download the new build. If they still have problems with downloading the build afterwards, reach out to us with the description of the issue.
Build does not install on players device
Few issues may cause players to be unable to install a game build. There is a chance that their device does not support the format of the game. If they don’t have additional devices to test with, unfortunately they won’t be able to play the game.
If the game is already installed (f.e. if you’re testing updates to the live game with them) there is a chance that a new build may not be installed. They will have to save their progress and remove the old build. After they’ve finished testing they should be able to restore saved progress after installing the version of the game without our software again.
One way to avoid this is to use a different bundle identifier when using PlaytestCloud. If you have any questions about this please reach out to us.
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Other than that, all of our other processes are still in place: We invite the players to the playtest, send them the game to playtest in our wrapped software, send reminder emails to the players and send you a results playtest page with the player videos.
We recommend preparing the players beforehand about receiving the playtest from PlaytestCloud. If you need any support, feel free to reach out to our expert operations team.