A soft launch checklist we actually use
Jordan Lee · May 25, 2026 · 8 min read
A soft launch is an experiment, and experiments need exit criteria written before the data arrives. Otherwise every result becomes an argument.
Pick two or three markets with a reasonable mix of cost and behavioral similarity to your target region. Run enough spend to reach statistical comfort on day-1 and day-7 retention — under a few thousand installs you are reading noise.
Define your gates in advance: a retention floor to justify further investment, a payer conversion floor to justify the economy, and a cost ceiling per install. Publish the gates to the whole team so nobody has to defend a decision emotionally later.
Most titles do not pass on the first attempt, and that is fine. The purpose of a soft launch is to make failure cheap and legible, not to confirm what you already hoped.
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