Competitor Testing

When to conduct Competitor Playtesting for your game

A Competitor Playtest allows you to evaluate your game alongside a competing title to understand how player experience compares in real gameplay scenarios your game against a competitor's title. Lysto’s Competitor Playtesting reveals what resonates with players, what causes friction, and why, across both titles. 

Here's how we make it work:

Start with your Game: First, we'll set up a playtest for your game. 

The first round works just like our standard playtests: players try your game, share their thoughts, and provide feedback through both gameplay recordings and surveys. Once these sessions are complete, you'll have a baseline of data to compare against the build of a competitor’s game.

Moving to Competitor's Game: Next, players play a competing title under the same testing conditions. This enables direct, player-to-player comparisons of how the experience differs between your game and the competitor’s. To minimize bias, the order in which the games are played is alternated across different player cohorts.  

Why this approach works: 

By playing both titles, players can provide direct, comparative feedback, highlighting specific differences that stand out between your game and a competitor’s. Because the testing conditions are consistent, players are able to focus on how changes in mechanics, pacing, clarity, and overall experience affect their gameplay.

This approach allows you to clearly see how players evaluate your game relative to competing titles, helping you identify what works well, where your game falls short, and which areas present the greatest opportunities for improvement.

After both tests are complete, you'll receive:

• Gameplay recordings showing how individual players approached each game

• You will receive survey responses that specifically address the comparative experience

• Clear insights into what works, what doesn't and why

This structured approach to Competitor Playtesting helps you make data-driven decisions about your game's development. Whether you're comparing different tutorial approaches, UI layouts, or game mechanics, you'll get clear evidence of what resonates better with your target players.

Interested in conducting a Competitor Playtest? Reach out to us at playtesting@lysto.io.