Pre-orders

How it works

Pre-orders allow you to sell the game before its official release date and help build a player community even before the game launch. With pre-orders, you can run A/B testing of marketing channels and promotional materials design to prepare for the game release.

A receipt is emailed to the users after they pre-order a game. The users get access to the game on the release date.

How to get it

1. Open your project in Publisher Account and go to the Shop Builder > Game keys section.
2. Select a package or create a new one.
3. In the Keys and pre-orders section, switch the Pre-orders toggler to On.
4. Set up the Release date:
   • Exact date - Specify the date and time keys will be sent.
   • No exact date - Start selling the game and add the exact date later. Once you know the release date, you can edit the created package and specify the exact date.
5. Upload game keys in the Keys section before the release date and save changes. You can do it either during the creation of the key package or later.

• is_enabled – set to true
• release_date – specify the release date in ISO 8601 format
• description – provide additional information about the pre-order (optional)

Sell pre-orders

You can sell pre-orders in the following ways:

• via a widget
• via a direct link
• on a website created using Site Builder

Features and limitations of pre-orders

• On the release date, the button on the widget changes from Pre-order to Buy Now.
• The Sold Out notification appears in the widget near the chosen platform in the purchase confirmation window, if you run out of keys for this DRM. You will receive an email notification when there are 25%, 10%, and 0% uploaded keys remaining in each package if you have one of the following roles in Publisher Account:
  • developer
  • owner
• If you upload the keys after the release date, they are emailed to players automatically after one hour.
• You can also sell keys with pre-orders if you don’t specify the exact release date. Game keys are emailed to users on the release date after you specify it.

Features of keys distribution via email

The content of email with a receipt depends on the date when the pre-order was purchased:

• Before the game release — the email contains the information on the release date according to the settings in Publisher Account.
• After the game release — the email contains a game key.

Game access emails are sent automatically on the game release day. You will need to upload keys in Publisher Account and specify the exact release date.