9 April 2025 – PlaytestCloud, the leading platform for remote playtesting of video games, today announced the release of its groundbreaking report, "Steal This Strategy." Based on research involving over 5,000 playtests in 2024 and an in-depth analysis of today’s blockbuster titles like Monopoly Go, the report details the repeatable and scalable strategy used by top-grossing game studios such as Zynga, Rovio, Ubisoft, Supercell, Metacore, and Wooga to achieve sustainable, profitable growth in today’s highly competitive gaming landscape.

In addition to demystifying how top-ranking studios have transformed playtesting into a lasting competitive advantage, PlaytestCloud has distilled the key elements of these billion-dollar wins into a practical, actionable framework that any game studio—regardless of size or budget—can apply to achieve similar success.

This winning strategy revolves around three core principles:

• Testing Early: World-class studios start testing before the first line of code is written—validating concepts with simple images, prototypes, and narrative ideas to reduce creative risk. In 2024 alone, PlaytestCloud helped studios complete over 5,400 playtests to refine and validate their game concepts.
• Testing Often: Playtesting is embedded in every phase of development—from pre-production to post-launch—to continuously gather real player feedback. Top studios conducted an average of 12 playtests per game, while other studios typically conducted only 3 to 4 playtests per project.
• Testing the Right Way: The most successful teams follow a structured testing regimen, using clearly defined playtest types such as concept tests, core loop tests, and narrative tests, each tailored to the specific phase of development. In 2024, 45% of top-performing studios employed multi-phase testing strategies, running multiple iterations of core loop and narrative tests throughout development to fine-tune gameplay mechanics and story engagement.

What sets this report apart is that it’s grounded in insights PlaytestCloud has gathered from over a decade of playtesting across a wide range of studios. “It’s not about spending more, it’s about how studios approach game development and, most importantly, how they integrate playtesting into every stage of that process,” notes Christian Ress, PlaytestCloud Co-Founder. “This report breaks down these proven strategies and shows that any studio, regardless of size or budget, can adopt them to create engaging player experiences, equipping them to weather market shifts, invest in growth, and increase their chances of launching hit games.”

The "Steal This Strategy" report is already sparking significant discussion within the industry and was recently featured on an episode of the PocketGamer.Biz podcast, a weekly series owned and published by Pocket Gamer. With a reach of over 200 million monthly players, the media company is a leading platform for mobile gaming news, reviews, and industry analysis, providing top industry voices a space to discuss the latest trends, strategies, and innovations.

In this popular episode, Jack Dunne, VP of Research Operations at PlaytestCloud, joins John Wright, gaming consultant and former VP of Mobile at Kwalee, to break down the strategies that top-performing studios use to keep players engaged and loyal.

Listen to the full episode here. 

For more information, visit PlaytestCloud’s website or contact press@playtestcloud.com.

About PlaytestCloud

Founded in 2014 by co-founders and CEOs Marvin Killing and Christian Ress, PlaytestCloud is a leading remote video game playtesting platform. The company provides game studios with in-depth insights from their target players, leveraging a global player panel of over 1 million players. PlaytestCloud’s clients include some of the world’s top game studios, helping improve user experiences, enhance player retention, and drive overall game success.

For press inquiries, please contact:
Dana Publicover
Head of Marketing
PlaytestCloud
Email: press@playtestcloud.com
Phone: +49 151 40329643