Live ops, the ongoing events, seasons, and content updates that keep players engaged, can also drive store visibility. Apple's in-app events appear in search, on product pages, and in editorial placements, and Google Play's promotional content can surface events and offers in the store. Plan a calendar of meaningful events, publish them through both stores, refresh screenshots and promotional text for major moments, and measure installs, re-engagement, and revenue against a baseline.
Why live ops matters for ASO
Players expect games to evolve. Events, seasons, new characters, and limited-time challenges keep them engaged and give lapsed players reasons to return. Both major stores now let developers surface these moments in the store itself, turning live ops into a discovery and re-engagement channel.
Live ops also improves the signals that support visibility: engagement, retention, and ratings. Players who enjoy events tend to rate games higher and recommend them. Our mobile game ASO playbook explains how these signals fit into game growth.
Apple in-app events
Apple's in-app events let you showcase timely events, such as competitions, challenges, premieres, or major updates, on your product page, in search results, and in editorial placements on the App Store. Users can learn about the event, get notified when it starts, and open the app directly into the event if installed.
Events must represent genuine, time-bound in-app content, not generic promotions. Each has a name, short and long descriptions, an event card image or video, a start and end time, and a badge type such as challenge, competition, live event, major update, new season, premiere, or special event. Our guide to in-app events for ASO covers setup and measurement.
Google Play promotional content
Google Play's promotional content lets eligible apps and games submit events, offers, major updates, and other time-limited content that can appear in the Play Store, including on the Games and Apps tabs, in search, and on your store listing. It helps reach new players and re-engage existing ones.
Promotional content needs compelling images and copy, accurate timing, and genuine value for players. Our Google Play promotional content guide explains formats, eligibility, and best practices.
Plan an event calendar
Map events a quarter or more ahead, aligned with content releases, seasons, holidays, and cultural moments in your key markets. Mix event types: competitive tournaments, cooperative challenges, collection events, new seasons, and crossovers. Avoid running so many events that none feels special.
Coordinate the calendar across game design, marketing, and ASO. Each major event should have store assets ready: event cards, promotional content images, refreshed screenshots if appropriate, and promotional text. Our seasonal ASO calendar explains planning across the year.
Refresh store creative for major moments
For big updates and seasons, refresh screenshots and preview videos to show new content. A listing that shows last year's season looks stale. On iOS, screenshots change with a new version, while promotional text can change anytime; on Google Play, store listing changes are reviewed but typically quick.
Seasonal creative can lift conversion during holidays and events, but test it against your evergreen creative and return to the evergreen version afterward if it performs better. Our guide to promotional text explains how to use the field you can change anytime.
Re-engagement and lapsed players
Events are one of the best re-engagement tools. Apple's in-app events can appear to users who have the app installed, and promotional content on Google Play can reach lapsed players. Pair store events with push notifications, email, and social posts for maximum reach, following the principles in our push notification strategy.
Make returning easy: lapsed players should land directly in the event with a short refresher, not a confusing menu after months away. Deep links from event cards and notifications help.
Measure event impact
Compare installs, re-engagement, revenue, and retention during events against a representative baseline period, not just the previous week. App Store Connect reports event impressions and opens; Play Console reports promotional content performance. Combine with in-game analytics to see participation and spending.
Not every event will lift installs. Some mainly drive engagement and revenue among existing players, which is still valuable. Track each event type's results to learn which formats work best for your game.
Live ops and ratings
Well-designed events boost ratings when players feel rewarded. Poorly balanced events, such as ones that require excessive grinding or spending, can trigger negative reviews. Monitor reviews during events and respond quickly to complaints.
Prompt for ratings after positive event moments, such as completing an event or receiving a reward, rather than during frustrating sections. See rating prompt timing for guidance.
Common live ops ASO mistakes
Running events without surfacing them in the stores wastes a free visibility opportunity. Another mistake is submitting generic sales as in-app events, which Apple's rules do not allow. Teams also leave outdated seasonal creative in place long after events end.
Overloading the calendar with constant events reduces their impact and can exhaust players. Finally, measuring events only by installs misses their value for engagement and revenue.
A worked example: a strategy game's season launch
A strategy game launches a new season with a new faction. Two weeks before, it submits an Apple in-app event with a new season badge and a Google Play promotional content entry with key art. It refreshes the first two screenshots to show the new faction and updates promotional text.
On launch day, push notifications and social posts direct players to the event. Event impressions in the App Store reach many users who previously played, and returning players increase notably. Revenue during the first week of the season exceeds the baseline, and reviews praise the new faction.
How to do it, step by step
- Build a quarterly event calendarMap events to content releases, seasons, and cultural moments in key markets.
- Prepare store assets for each eventCreate event cards, promotional content images, and copy ahead of time.
- Submit in-app events and promotional contentPublish through App Store Connect and Play Console with accurate timing.
- Refresh creative for major momentsUpdate screenshots and promotional text for big seasons, then return to evergreen creative.
- Measure against a baselineCompare installs, re-engagement, revenue, and retention with a representative period.
Before and after examples
Illustrative examples written for a generic app in this category, not client results. Swap in your own product, audience, and data.
50% off all gems this weekend!
New Season: The Frost Faction arrives with a 14-day campaign.
Why it works: Events must represent real in-app content, not generic sales.
Last winter's event screenshots still live in summer.
Current season shown in the first two screenshots.
Why it works: Fresh creative signals an active game.
Compare event week with the week before.
Compare event period with a representative non-event baseline.
Why it works: Better baselines produce more reliable conclusions.
Action plan
- Plan events a quarter ahead
- Surface events in both stores
- Keep events genuine and time-bound
- Refresh creative for big moments
- Pair store events with push and social
- Measure against representative baselines
Metrics to monitor
- Event impressions and opens
- Returning player count during events
- Installs during events versus baseline
- Event revenue and participation
- Rating trend during events
Record the baseline, release date, audience, markets, and external changes before interpreting movement. Rankings and conversion are useful signals, but a decision is stronger when activation, retention, and business value confirm that the page attracted the right users.
Frequently asked questions
What are Apple in-app events?
Time-bound events, such as challenges, competitions, or new seasons, that can appear on your product page, in search, and in editorial placements on the App Store.
What is Google Play promotional content?
A Play Console feature for submitting events, offers, and major updates that can appear in the Play Store to reach new and existing players.
Do in-app events help ASO?
They can increase visibility and re-engagement, and improve engagement signals and ratings when events are well designed.
How often should games run events?
Often enough to keep players engaged, but not so often that events lose impact. Many games run a mix of weekly and seasonal events.
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