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The challenges of running a pre-registration campaign

A comparison of the App Store and Google Play from the InnoGames team working on Heroes of History

August 18, 2025

The challenges of running a pre-registration campaign

Pre-reg isn’t perfect, but the launch spike + rankings boost are worth it
Google makes it easy, Apple makes it with quality.
Rewards aren’t just gifts - they are tracking tools.
Budget more for iOS if retention is your priority.
Give UA a short breather after launch.

InnoGames conducted a pre-registration campaign for the launch of its mobile game Heroes of History, with 80k driven from key, paid markets.

Speaking during a session at Devcom, senior performance marketing manager Anna Gruzina discussed the challenges the team faced on the App Store and Google Play when using pre-registrations to help drive early downloads.

Gruzina said the team had never run a campaign for this before, but could see the impact on titles like Age of Empires: Mobile and Squad Busters.

Of the 180k pre-registrations it generated for Heroes of History, 100k were organic, while 80k came from markets it runs UA in: Australia, Canada, UK and USA.

Comparing support for pre-regs on Google Play and the App Store, Gruzina said Android has better infrastructure to support it, with Play integrated into Google Ads, enabling developers to optimise campaigns. Meanwhile, iOS is a trickier proposition.

To get better attribution on iOS, InnoGames used SplitMetrics to create a fake store page, which ultimately led to better conversion rates and lower costs.

Another challenge is offering and promoting rewards. Again, Google Play provides the infrastructure for adding rewards, while the App Store doesn't. To help understand how many pre-registrations converted to actual users, Heroes of History included pre-registration rewards that, once accessed in-game, triggered attribution.

While it appeared Google had better support for pre-registrations, Gruzina said when it came to conversions, while Play showed bigger numbers, iOS had much better retention. She advised budgeting more for iOS if retention is the priority.