Using your own players for playtests offers several advantages when those players accurately represent your target audience.

Studios can test with players who are already familiar with their work, engaged with their community, or represent specific player segments they've built over time. This can provide context-rich feedback from players who understand the studio's design philosophy or have invested time in previous titles.

However, feedback is only relevant if it comes from the right audience. If your community doesn't fully match the player segments you're targeting, or if you need to reach new demographics, genres, or regions, using Lysto's 1M+ verified player panel may provide more actionable insights by ensuring playtesters align with your precise targeting criteria.

Yes. Lysto's self-hosted playtesting works regardless of where your player community is located.

You can share the playtest link across Discord servers, social media channels, in-game announcements, or any other platform where your players gather. Players from all these channels create Lysto accounts and participate through the same secure, structured environment.

The platform consolidates all gameplay sessions, feedback, and insights in one dashboard, regardless of which channel players came from, making it easy to analyze results across your entire community.

Lysto implements multiple security and experience measures to ensure self-hosted playtests run smoothly for your players.

Players cannot access your build until they have signed a legally enforceable NDA. Builds are encrypted end-to-end, and access ends automatically through a remote kill switch the moment the session concludes. Unauthorized screenshot or capture attempts are detected, traced to the player's identity, and instantly flagged.

The platform guides players through account creation, NDA signing, app download, and session participation with clear instructions. Gameplay, commentary, and feedback are captured automatically, and all recordings are deleted from the player's device once the session ends. Role-based access controls ensure only authorized studio personnel can view submissions and insights.

The playtest experience includes both Lysto and studio branding.

Players download the Lysto app and see Lysto branding throughout the platform. However, studios upload their game icon and project details, which are displayed to players alongside the platform interface. This ensures players understand they're participating in a secure, professional playtesting environment while recognizing the studio and game they're testing.

For custom branding solutions beyond standard options, please contact your Games Partnership Manager or reach out to us at contact@lysto.io.

Self-hosted playtests provide the same insights and deliverables as playtests using Lysto's player panel.

You receive gameplay recordings, think-aloud player commentary, and audio transcripts from each session. Lysto's AI structures and analyzes sessions instantly, surfacing key moments, player reactions, and patterns. AI-generated insights include timestamped summaries, smart annotations for confusion bursts, hesitation, frustration spikes, and delight, and both individual player snapshots and group-level patterns showing systemic issues versus isolated incidents.

If surveys are included, you receive post-session or post-playtest survey responses. Research reports synthesize findings into actionable recommendations. The only difference between self-hosted and panel playtests is player recruitment—all analysis, session management, and insight delivery remain the same.

Self-hosted playtests can be set up and launched quickly once you create the playtest request.

You define the study type, add project details, configure session parameters, upload your build or share a build link, and receive the playtest link to share with your community. The setup process is the same as panel-based playtests, minus defining player targeting criteria since you handle recruitment.

Once you share the link, players can join and begin sessions as soon as they sign up, complete NDA verification, and download the app. The speed at which the study goes live depends primarily on how quickly your community responds to the invitation.

Lysto's Expert User Researcher team can help design and configure your study, regardless of whether you're using self-hosted players or the player panel.

Our researchers can guide you in defining playtesting goals, determining the right study type, structuring tasks and instructions, deciding on session length and player count, and ensuring the study captures meaningful insights aligned with your objectives. This support is available for studios who need consultation on study design and research methodology.

For more information about study design support, contact your Games Partnership Manager or reach out to us at contact@lysto.io.

Yes, but this requires a custom solution.

If you start with self-hosted players and need to supplement with participants from Lysto's 1M+ verified player panel, you'll need to contact us to configure a combined approach. This allows you to mix your own community with Lysto's panel recruitment for the same study or for future playtests, ensuring you reach the right audience segments.

For more information on combining self-hosted and panel recruitment, contact your Games Partnership Manager or reach out to us at contact@lysto.io.

The Lysto Px dashboard organizes all playtest data, insights, and deliverables in one collaborative workspace.

You can review gameplay recordings grouped by session, access AI-generated summaries with timestamped insights and tagged moments, view individual player snapshots and group-level patterns, analyze survey responses, and download research reports. The dashboard allows you to jump directly to key moments in recordings, compare player reactions across sessions, and share findings with your team.

Role-based access controls let you decide who sees builds, who accesses insights, and who gets platform permissions down to the individual level. All session data is structured and searchable, making it easy to navigate findings and translate playtest results into confident product decisions.