“Where can I find playtesters for my research study?”
I get this question at least three times a week and honestly, I understand the frustration behind it. You’ve poured months into developing your game, you know you need player feedback, but suddenly you’re staring at the daunting task of finding the right people to test it.
But this is usually what catches most developers off guard. Recruiting ideal players is about finding people who will give you the insights you actually need to improve your game.
I’ve watched too many developers waste weeks testing with the wrong audience, only to get feedback that sends them down rabbit holes or confirms biases they already had.
So let me walk you through the approaches that actually work, based on what I’ve seen succeed (and fail) over the years.
Start With Your Own Community (Even If It's Tiny)
If you’ve built any kind of following around your game, even if it’s just 50 people on Discord or a handful of X followers, start there.
These people are already invested in what you’re building. They chose to follow your journey, which means they’re likely to give thoughtful feedback rather than just surface-level reactions.
The mistake I see developers make here is being too precious about their community. They worry about “bothering” their followers or think they need to save their audience for the “real” launch. But your early community wants to help. They’re following you because they believe in what you’re creating.
When you involve them in testing, you’re making them feel like partners in the development process, which turns them into advocates for your game.
Use External Communities
When your own community isn’t big enough, you need to venture into external spaces. This is where things get tricky because not all communities are created equal.
You’ve got two main paths:
- General platforms (like User Interviews) that cover all kinds of products
- Gaming-specific communities (like Antidote) that understand the nuances of player behavior
I might be biased toward gaming-focused platforms, but there’s a real reason for that preference. When you’re testing a game, you need people who understand gaming conventions, who can articulate why a control scheme feels off or who can tell you when your difficulty curve doesn’t match expectations.
And to be clear, this doesn’t mean you need hardcore gamers who play 40 hours a week. It means finding people who have enough familiarity with your specific genre or similar games to give informed feedback. For example, someone who plays mobile games during their commute or a parent who enjoys puzzle games on weekends.
A general user research participant might tell you “this is confusing”, but a gamer will tell you “this jump feels floaty compared to other platformers” or “the UI makes it hard to navigate and find the upgrade options”.
That specificity in feedback makes all the difference when you’re trying to iterate quickly.
Gaming Events
Conventions, meetups and industry gatherings offer real-time reactions and immediate follow-up questions.
When someone plays your game at an event, you can watch their actions, see exactly where they get stuck and ask clarifying questions on the spot. That immediate feedback loop can be extremely valuable.
But the environment creates its own biases.
People at gaming conventions are often in ‘discovery mode’. They’re excited, energetic, and more forgiving of rough edges than someone playing your game at home after a long day of work. The noise, the crowds, the excitement of the event, it all affects how people experience your game.
I’m not saying don’t test at events. Just remember that the feedback you get there needs to be balanced with testing in more natural environments.
Forums and Social Media
Sometimes you need to go where your target audience already hangs out.
If you’re building a puzzle game, maybe that’s the r/puzzles subreddit. If it’s a racing game, perhaps it’s specific Discord servers or TikTok communities focused on motorsports.
The key here is understanding the culture of each platform before you jump in. Reddit communities, for example, can be incredibly helpful if you approach them genuinely and follow their rules. But show up with a blatant “test my game” post without understanding the community and you’ll get downvoted into oblivion.
Discord servers can be welcoming to developers who are actively participating in conversation. So not just dropping links and disappearing.
Whichever route you choose, just be prepared to invest some effort and implement pre-screening processes for whenever you do find your target players.
Paid Media
Sometimes you need to reach specific demographics quickly and that’s where targeted advertising comes in. The advantage of paid media is control. You can target specific age groups, gaming preferences and geographic locations with precision.
The downside is that it’s expensive and people who respond to ads aren’t necessarily the most engaged testers. They might participate once but won’t stick around to see how their feedback gets implemented.
I’ve found paid media works best when you combine it with other approaches. Use ads to fill gaps in your testing demographics or to reach scale when you need statistical significance in your results.
Start Small, Scale Smart
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all these options, here’s my advice:
Start with what’s available to you right now.
Have 20 people following your development? Start there.
No existing community? Pick one platform where you think your audience might hang out and start building relationships.
You don’t need to execute all five approaches simultaneously. You need to start gathering feedback consistently and building the habit of incorporating player insights into your development process.
The developers who succeed aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest testing budgets or the most sophisticated recruitment strategies. They’re the ones who start early, test regularly and actually listen to what players are telling them.
The Bottom Line
The most important takeaway I can give is that finding the right playtesters isn’t just about filling slots in a testing calendar.
It’s about building relationships with the people who will ultimately determine whether your game succeeds or receives poor reception.
Start where you are, use what you have and focus on creating genuine connections with players who care about what you’re building. The feedback will follow and so will the community that champions your game when it launches.
But I know that sometimes you need to move faster than organic community building allows.
Over the years, we’ve built a community of engaged gamers who genuinely enjoy discovering new games and providing thoughtful feedback. These aren’t just random participants clicking through for a quick payout. They’re players who understand what makes games work and can articulate why something does or doesn’t feel right.
If you’re ready to start testing but need to find the right players, we’re here to help. Your future players are out there waiting to discover what you’re creating 😊
