Survey-Only Playtests

Modified on Thu, 10 Jul at 10:59 AM

Get honest player feedback fast — no build required.

Perfect for early validation, creative testing, and audience insights.



What is it?

Survey-Only Playtest lets you run targeted surveys with real players, without needing a game build.
It’s ideal for 
early-stage testing, concept feedback, and strategic decisions before you invest in development or marketing.

This is also valuable for teams with live games or apps who want to collect player feedback to identify bugs, uncover blockers, understand user behaviour, or explore new use cases. It helps improve existing experiences and supports studios looking to scale effectively.



When should you use Survey-Only?

Select this playtest when you want to:

  • Test your idea or theme before building (Concept Testing)

  • Decide between art styles or game names

  • Prioritize features that matter most to players

  • Understand your audience and their habits

  • Fine-tune monetization before launch

  • Validate marketing angles (trailers, taglines, icons)

  • Gather post-launch feedback for live games

Whether you're pre-production, mid-dev, or post-release, it’s your fastest way to make informed decisions.



What can you do with Survey-Only?

What You Can Do

Examples

Validate the Game Idea

“Would you play a game like this?”

Prioritize Features

“Which feature is a must-have on Day 1?”

Test Visuals & Branding

A/B test trailers, icons, taglines

Understand Player Segments

Know who plays — age, device, region, style

Refine Monetization

Will they pay? What price? What kind of In-App Purchase?

Optimize Marketing

Which creative hooks or messages click best?

Spot Early Red Flags

Understand what would turn players off




What’s included (and what’s not)

Feature

Survey-Only

Notes

No Game Build Needed

No .apk upload required

Survey Tool Support

Use Lysto’s tool or 3rd-party like Alchemer

Player Targeting

Choose age, gender, region, device, gamer type

Upload Creative Assets

Add concept art, trailers, feature mockups




How it works (step-by-step)

  1. Add your GameAdd name, description, and goals.

  2. Select Survey-Only Format: No playable build required.

  3. Choose Your Audience: Lysto selects and appoints playtesters based on your target criteria.

  4. Set Player RequirementsFilter by gamer type, age, gender, region, device, and more.

  5. Add Your Survey Link: Use Lysto’s tool to upload your survey questionnaire (in any format - Google Forms, Typeform, etc.) to help us create a feedback survey for players or integrate with your 3rd-party custom survey tools (such as Alchemer survey). 

  6. Launch & Review Responses: Once playtesters submit the survey, the data appears in your dashboard, ready for analysis.




What roles benefit from Survey-Only?

Role

Key Benefits

Game Designers

Validate concepts, characters, storyboard, test features, and art style feedback

Product Managers

Segment audience, prioritise features, and pricing data

Marketers

Test trailers, names, icons, and creative hooks

Founders/Execs

Use insights to pitch, de-risk ideas, or guide roadmaps




Why use this instead of a playtest?

If You Want To…

Survey-Only Is Best

Validate ideas/storyboard without a build

Make design/feature decisions early

Understand your market and player base

Test pricing, ads, and IAP interest

Optimize branding before spending

Avoid dev time on unwanted features




Survey-Only Playtests = fast, focused, and risk-reducing.

You don’t need gameplay to make wise decisions — you need honest, scalable feedback from the right players. That’s exactly what this gives you.

To know more, reach out to us at contact@lysto.io



Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select at least one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article