If you and your team have been pouring your heart and soul into creating a game, we understand that it can feel unsettling to turn it over to an outside party before its official release. However, with PlaytestCloud, your unreleased games are in good hands.
With the majority of the games tested with PlaytestCloud being unreleased and in-development, we’ve handled a lot of sensitive information over the years and know to keep it safe.
To protect your game, PlaytestCloud has procedures in place with our network of playtesters and shielding software. Read on to learn more about what PlaytestCloud does to ensure secure playtesting.
Legal Measures with Our Playtesters
People bring their games to PlaytestCloud to get actionable and useful feedback and this only happens after your game has been tested by real people. We have a number of measures put in place with our playtesters so we can be sure the details of your game stay confidential.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Before they’re permitted to test a game, our playtesters must agree to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The NDA explicitly states that the tester cannot share any details about the games they’re playing, no matter how big or small. In addition, it also prohibits people from the games industry – or those with close ties to someone in the games industry — from joining our playtester panel.
With an NDA required to be agreed to before each game is tested, the importance of confidentiality is repeatedly made clear to our playtesters.
Completely Random Invites
The way our process works means that playtesters can’t just decide which games they get to play. Instead, the system is completely randomized.
When players get an email invitation to take part in a playtest, it will omit specifics of the game and only once the players are downloading the game will they learn the game they’ll be testing.
Technical Measures for Your Game’s Safety
PlaytestCloud provides additional layers of security for your testing through dedicated, technical protections that secure your game while it is being playtested. Our approach to technical security is industry-leading and is enabled through custom, in-house developed software.
The type of technical security measures applied depend on the type of study you are running and the manner in which you provide the game to us and our players.
Be it testing public games or highly confidential, unreleased ones, we have the right solution for you.
1) Android games provided through build upload (APK/AAB file), iOS games provided through TestFlight (when using the PlaytestCloud SDK)
These games are protected by:
- Access control. Ensures that only players who are participating in your playtest can open the game. We always know who opens the game, at what time, and what they do within it.
- Conditional access. Some playtests require players to play at specific times or intervals, and not at others. Our software enforces that the game cannot be played outside of the defined times.
- Remote build deactivation ("kill-switch"): A "kill-switch" is automatically embedded in every game. It allows us to block future access to the game build after the playtest is over or if access needs to be revoked at any time. The “kill-switch” is enabled automatically when a playtest finishes.
- Continuous recording. We record players for the entire duration of a playtest. Players are aware of this arrangement, and you have access to the whole interaction the player has within your game. We do this for the safety and security of your game, as every interaction is traceable.
This is our most secure playtesting mode, recommended for all unreleased games.
2) iOS games on TestFlight (without using the PlaytestCloud SDK)
Our technical security measures do not work on TestFlight builds that do not include our SDK, as we cannot control access to your game without our software being part of your game.
However, you can disable the build distributed to players within your own TestFlight profile after the playtest concludes if desired.
We recommend this testing mode for games that are already in soft-launch or have launched and for games for which you deem the general security measurements to be sufficient.
3) Android games on Google Play, iOS games on the App Store
For playtests with games that are already live on Google Play or the Apple App Store, no technical security measures are available.
4) Tests for browser games or prototypes accessed through a mobile browser.
Players participate in these tests through a special mobile browser developed by PlaytestCloud.
Access to the mobile browser is protected through the same measures as outlined in (1).
Additionally, we don’t reveal the URL your content is hosted at, meaning players cannot access it after the playtest has concluded unless the game/prototype itself reveals its location.
If you have questions about the most suitable method for playtesting your game or have a specific question about our technical security measures, please reach out to us.
A Track Record with Sensitive Intellectual Property
With all of these measures in place, the details of your unreleased games remain confidential. This extends to games with sensitive intellectual property (IP). In the past, we’ve worked with game developers and studios who have built games based on popular IP including Star Trek, Family Guy and The Walking Dead. We’re proud to have kept their IP safe and secure during the whole process.
All in all, PlaytestCloud's security measures leave your team to iterate on your game’s user experience freely, so you’re able to bring the best possible game to life. The ultimate goal!
Ready to Have Your Game Securely Playtested?
Sign up for PlaytestCloud account today and start your safe and secure playtest, or reach out to us directly if you have a question.