GamesMobile games playbook
Paid UA is where most mobile marketing advice starts. For a small studio, the store itself comes first: featuring nominations, pre-registration, in-app events and store pages that sell the game in three screenshots. Outpost runs the organic side and shows a receipt for every action.
01 · DISCOVERY
Most players find mobile games inside the stores: browsing editorial on the App Store Today and Games tabs, Google Play's game charts and collections, and search for a genre or a game they saw elsewhere. Since iOS 26, Apple's Games app adds another browsing surface that pulls from App Store listings and highlights in-app events. Outside the stores, short gameplay clips on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Reels, plus genre subreddits and Discord servers, send players to the store page already knowing what the game is.
A player sees a clip, an editorial card or a search result, opens the store page, and decides from the icon, the first screenshots or preview video, and the rating. Most mobile games are free to download, so the real conversion happens later: day-one retention, then the first purchase or ad view. Pre-registration on Google Play and pre-orders or TestFlight on iOS let you collect intent before launch, so launch day starts with a list instead of from zero.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
Apple lets developers nominate new launches, new content and app enhancements for editorial consideration in App Store Connect, and In-App Events can show up in search, on your product page and in editorial and personalized recommendations. These are free and only work if you submit them ahead of time.
Icon, first screenshots and preview video decide the install. Google Play supports store listing experiments and up to 50 custom store listings, and Apple supports custom product pages that can be tied to keywords. Testing creative is the cheapest conversion lever a mobile game has.
Google Play pre-registration lets players sign up before launch, with an optional one-time reward, and TestFlight public links can take up to 10,000 external testers. Both turn early interest into installs on day one.
Mobile games sell on motion. A short clip of the core loop on TikTok, Shorts or Reels shows the game better than any description, and small creators who play your genre reach players who already install games like yours.
Players discuss mobile titles in subreddits like r/iosgaming and r/AndroidGaming and in genre servers. TouchArcade, long a hub for iOS games, shut down in 2024, so player conversation is now spread across Reddit and Discord.
Events like Pocket Gamer Connects' Big Indie Pitch put small mobile studios in front of press, publishers and platform contacts. One good write-up can bring the attention of store editors and creators.
BUSINESS MODEL · LIVE
The same channel can be a strong fit for a paid game and a poor one for a free one. Each line below is a rule or rating from Outpost's knowledge base, with its source; your own plan is built from your answers.
Apple rejects apps designed predominantly to display ads, limits display ads to the main app binary, requires interstitials to be labelled as ads with easy close/skip buttons and a way to report inappropriate ads, and bars third-party ads and analytics in Kids Category apps (except limited contextual ads from services that human-review creatives).
Apple allows apps to reward actions such as watching an ad, but bans forcing ratings/reviews and apps designed predominantly to show ads (Guideline 3.2.2).
Google Play bans unexpected full-screen interstitials, full-screen interstitials that cannot be closed after 15 seconds (opt-in or non-interrupting ones, such as after a score screen, may run longer), ads that mimic app or system UI, and lock-screen monetization (unless the app is a lock screen); rewarded ads the user opts into are exempt.
Apple auto-renewable subscriptions must provide ongoing value, last at least seven days, work across all of the user's devices, and clearly describe what the user gets before asking them to subscribe.
On the App Store and Mac App Store, unlocking features, subscriptions, in-game currency, premium content or a full version must use Apple In-App Purchase, and apps may not use their own unlock mechanisms such as license keys.
Apple bans buying real-money-gaming credit through IAP and requires real-money gaming apps to be licensed, geo-restricted and free on the App Store (Guidelines 5.3.3-5.3.4).
Google Play bans games that take money for a chance at a physical or monetary prize outside licensed gambling, and bans simulated gambling in apps that show gambling ads.
Since iOS 26.5 (terms published 18 June 2026), Brazilian iOS apps may use alternative in-app payments or link out to the web: App Store commission is 21% (10% for Small Business Program members and for subscriptions after year one) plus 5% if Apple processes the payment, link-out sales within 7 days carry a 15% (or 10%) store-services commission, and alternative marketplaces carry a 5% Core Technology Commission.
Amazon Appstore requires that every native library in lib/arm64-v8a has a matching library in lib/armeabi-v7a, and tells developers not to remove 32-bit support.
Amazon Appstore binaries can be up to 2.5 GB, OBB expansion files are not supported, and the console warns above 50 MB or on growth of more than 10%; Fire TV apps should ideally be 2 GB or less and stay under 4 GB installed.
Apple moved to a new age-rating system; developers had to answer the updated age-rating questions by 2026-01-31 to avoid an interruption when submitting app updates.
An App Clip's uncompressed, thinned main bundle may be at most 15 MB for iOS 16 and 10 MB below iOS 16; 100 MB is allowed only for iOS 17+, digital-invocation-only clips used where reliable internet is likely.
Read from Outpost's knowledge base on Nov 8, 2026; every line links its source.
03 · YOUR FIRST MONTH
A sample month. Your own plan is built from your audit, stage and goal, and paid options only ever appear as optional boosts.
Week 1 · days 1–7
Week 2 · days 8–14
Week 3 · days 15–21
Week 4 · days 22–30
04 · WHERE TO BE LISTED
Costs are as published by each destination when the research was reviewed; check before you pay for anything.
apps.apple.com
Where iOS players browse and search. Use featuring nominations, In-App Events and custom product pages inside App Store Connect.
$99/yr Apple Developer Program; 30% or 15% commission
play.google.com
Supports pre-registration, store listing experiments and custom store listings, all useful before and after launch.
$25 one-time registration
galaxystore.samsung.com
A second Android storefront on Samsung devices, with its own game sections and less competition than Play.
Fee not stated by Samsung; commercial seller status may be needed
developer.amazon.com
Reaches Fire tablet owners, a family and casual audience, if your game runs on Fire OS.
Free registration
impress.games
Hosts a game press kit and helps you reach press and creators with one link.
Freemium
gamespress.com
A press release service that games journalists read, useful for launch and big update news.
Freemium
reddit.com
For devlogs, feedback on store creative and soft launch learnings. Developer audience, not players.
pgconnects.com
A pitch event for small mobile studios, with judges from press and industry. The London mobile edition takes entries until January 5, 2027.
Requires a PG Connects registration
05 · SEARCH DEMAND
Primary search
mobile game marketing
50searches a month
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026
Comparing: show why you
Learning: answer with guides
Looking for a place: be listed there
Ready to act: make it easy
06 · AVOID
Paid installs into a game that loses most players on day one burn budget and teach you little. Soft launch in a small set of markets, or run a TestFlight and Play closed test, and fix the first session before you scale anything.
Apple has a nomination form in App Store Connect for launches, new content and enhancements. Studios that never submit one are not in the running. Nominate weeks ahead and describe what is new and why it matters to players.
Apple says the first one to three screenshots appear in search results when there is no preview video. Use them for the core loop and the hook, not the title screen or a settings page.
Google Play allows only one pre-registration reward for the lifetime of a campaign, it must be a one-time in-app product, and it cannot be changed after you create it. Pick something players will notice in their first session.
Mobile games live on returning players. Without an event calendar, using In-App Events on iOS and in-game seasons on both stores, there is little for editors to feature or players to return for after launch week.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Rewrites your App Store and Google Play pages from your confirmed facts and lists the screenshot and asset changes to make, in priority order
Keeps showcase and platform windows such as Google Play's indie programs and Apple's holiday review slowdown on your calendar, with the lead time each needs
Publishes SEO articles on your site for the searches players make about your game: tips, guides and 'games like' pages
Drafts posts for the gaming communities Outpost knows that fit, such as r/IndieGaming, within each one's self-promotion rules, for you to post
Tracks site search visibility and AI-search mentions of your game next to the pre-registrations you share, with a receipt for every action taken
Every action Outpost takes gets a receipt: the live URL, a timestamp and what it drove, or “nothing yet”.See how receipts work
08 · QUESTIONS
Not to start. Paid UA pays off once you know your retention and how much a player is worth. Before that, the free levers matter more: store page creative, featuring nominations, pre-registration, creator clips and community. Every Outpost plan works at $0 extra spend.
Submit a featuring nomination in App Store Connect for a new launch, new content or an app enhancement, ideally weeks ahead. Nominations do not guarantee a feature, but editors can only consider what they know about. Good art, a clear update story and a polished build all help.
Usually yes, if you have a launch date. Players who pre-register can be notified at launch, and you can offer one pre-registration reward, which must be a one-time in-app product. Set the reward up before you turn pre-registration on in a country.
A soft launch releases the game in a few markets first so you can measure retention and monetization before going global. Small studios can get a similar signal from a TestFlight public link and a Google Play closed test. What matters is real players and real data before you scale.
Player conversation has moved to subreddits like r/iosgaming and r/AndroidGaming, genre-specific subreddits, and Discord servers, including your own. Developer communities like r/gamedev are good for feedback but are not where players are.
Store page tests can show results within weeks. Featuring depends on editorial calendars. SEO for your game's name, guides and genre pages builds over months. Expect the first month to set foundations and the gains to add up over a quarter or more.
Yes, a simple one. A landing page with a trailer, store badges, a press kit and guide pages gives creators and journalists something to link to, and it lets your game show up in web and AI search, not only in store search.
10 · EVIDENCE
Every fact on this page comes from one of these sources.
Featuring nominations exist for new content, enhancements and new launches, and do not guarantee a feature
In-App Events appear on product pages, in search and in editorial and personalized recommendations; up to 10 published at a time
Apple's Games app launched with iOS 26 as a discovery surface for games
One pre-registration reward per campaign, one-time in-app products only, set up before enabling pre-registration
Store listing experiments and up to 50 custom store listings
Custom product pages with varied screenshots, previews and promotional text, assignable to keywords
Up to 10,000 external testers via email or public link
First one to three screenshots appear in search results when no app preview is available
TouchArcade shut down in 2024
Definition and purpose of a mobile game soft launch
Pitch event for small mobile studios; entry deadline January 5, 2027; requires PG Connects registration
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026.
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