A pre-registration campaign collects players before a game is released. Instead of trying to win every install on launch day, you spend the weeks before it building a list of people who have already said yes. On launch, they are notified, and on Android many of them receive the game automatically. Done well, it turns launch day from a cold start into a spike that helps the game's store ranking from its first hours.
Both stores support it, in different shapes. Google Play has pre-registration; the App Store has pre-orders. The mechanics differ enough that a single plan has to account for both.
How Google Play pre-registration works
On Google Play, a game in pre-registration has a live store page with a pre-register button instead of an install button. Players who tap it are notified when the game launches, and they can choose to have it installed automatically when it becomes available, on supported devices. The store page carries the full listing — icon, screenshots, video, description — so ASO work starts during pre-registration rather than at launch.
- Pre-registration rewards: Google Play lets you grant an in-game reward to players who pre-registered, delivered when they first open the game. It should be something useful but not game-breaking — a cosmetic, a starter bundle, a premium currency gift.
- Paid acquisition: Google Ads App campaigns can be set to drive pre-registrations for Android games, using the same assets as an install campaign.
- Testing: a pre-registration page can run store listing experiments, so you can test icons and screenshots before the launch traffic arrives.
How App Store pre-orders work
On the App Store, a new app can be made available for pre-order ahead of release, up to 180 days in advance. Players who pre-order have the app downloaded automatically on release day; for a paid app, they are charged then. The product page is live during the pre-order period, so screenshots, previews and the description can be tested and refined. Unlike Google Play, the App Store has no built-in pre-registration reward mechanism, so any reward for early sign-ups has to be delivered by the game itself, typically through an account or a code.
Check the current rules before planning dates
Both stores update their pre-launch features and eligibility rules from time to time. Confirm the current pre-registration and pre-order terms in the Play Console and App Store Connect documentation before announcing dates or rewards publicly.
Why pre-registration matters
- Launch-day volume. Notifications and automatic installs concentrate early installs into the first hours, which is when store charts and algorithms are watching.
- A demand signal. The number and the rate of sign-ups tell you whether the concept works before you commit the full launch budget.
- Creative learning. Pre-registration ads are a live test of hooks and concepts, cheaper to learn from now than at launch.
- A community to talk to. People who pre-register are interested by definition — the best first audience for a Discord server, social channels and beta tests.
Be realistic about conversion: not everyone who pre-registers will install, and not everyone who installs will stay. Track the share that does, and judge the campaign by launched, retained players, not by the sign-up count alone.
Building a pre-registration campaign
- Prove the concept first. A soft launch or closed test gives you retention data and real gameplay footage before you ask anyone to sign up.
- Set the store pages up as if it were launch. Icon, screenshots, video and description in every launch language; pre-registration traffic converts on the same assets.
- Choose a reward that is clear in one line. A pre-registration reward the viewer cannot picture does not motivate anyone.
- Plan milestone rewards, if you use them. Many games unlock extra rewards for everyone when the total reaches published targets, which gives players a reason to share. Only promise what you will deliver, and deliver it whatever the final count.
- Run paid campaigns with a clear window. Pre-registration ads work best in the last weeks before launch, when the gap between sign-up and play is short.
- Collect sign-ups off-store too. A landing page with an email or a community link reaches players on platforms where store pre-registration is not available.
- Plan the launch-day hand-off: notification timing, a welcome message, the reward delivered on first open, and server capacity for the spike.
Creative for pre-registration ads
Pre-registration creative sells a promise rather than an immediate download, so it has to work harder on clarity. The viewer must understand what the game is, why they want it, and what they get for signing up now.
- Show real gameplay as early as you can. Cinematic trailers build hype, but gameplay tells a viewer whether this is their kind of game.
- State the reward and the date. A countdown or a named launch window gives a reason to act now.
- Use the call to action the store uses. Pre-register or pre-order, not install, so the store page matches the promise.
- Keep the art consistent with the store page, so the viewer recognises the game when they land.
- Make separate versions for each store where the wording differs, since pre-register on Android and pre-order on iOS are different promises.
Playable creative has a special role here. A short playable lets the viewer try the core mechanic of a game that is not out yet, which is the most direct answer to the question pre-registration ads struggle with: is it fun? Where a network supports playables for the campaign, a playable ending on a pre-register call to action carries a strong argument. The countdown timer ads guide covers how to use a launch date honestly.
Measuring a pre-registration campaign
Measure in two stages. Before launch, track pre-registrations or pre-orders by source and creative, and the cost of each. After launch, track how many of those turned into installs, how many opened the game, and how they retained compared with players acquired after launch. The second stage is what tells you whether the first was worth paying for. Store consoles report pre-registration and pre-order counts; a mobile measurement partner joins paid traffic to the post-launch picture.
After launch: keep the creative working
The hooks that won during pre-registration are the starting point for launch creative. Swap the call to action from pre-register to install or play now, update the reward line, and move the winners into the launch campaign. The losers are useful too: a concept that failed to earn sign-ups is unlikely to earn installs. The broader launch plan is covered in how to advertise a mobile game.
Where Playable Ads Maker fits
Pre-launch is when art and builds change fastest, so the creative has to be quick to rebuild. Playable Ads Maker builds playables and interactive end cards without code, from the art you already have, and exports them ready to upload to every major network in one pass. Change the call to action from pre-register to install on launch day, re-export, and the same concept carries straight on. Localisation and custom fonts mean a global pre-registration campaign does not need a separate build per market. Start from a template close to your game's mechanic and have a prototype in front of players while the game itself is still in development.
Create playable end cards in minutes—no code required.
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