Userplay

Userplay is a playtesting platform for studios that want recruitment, gameplay review, and player feedback in one workflow. It suits teams running recurring tests, particularly those recruiting through Discord. Its free plan supports unlimited playtests, but player caps and shorter recording retention define when an upgrade makes sense.

Overview

Userplay brings player recruitment and screening, key distribution, session capture, review, and feedback collection together. Studios can recruit from Discord communities, then use replays, transcripts, surveys, and custom forms to understand both player behavior and feedback. Automatically surfaced bugs, comments, and standout moments can help teams navigate recorded sessions; the practical limits are the number of players, seats, announcement messages, and days of recording retention in each plan.

Key features

• Recruitment and distribution: Recruit and screen playtesters through Discord communities, and distribute keys through the Discord integration. Mailchimp synchronization supports targeted campaigns. This is useful for studios with an established community or campaign list, though player targeting is basic.
• Session review: Replays, voice transcripts, and automatically surfaced bugs, feedback, and standout gameplay moments give teams several ways to interpret a test. That makes the review workflow more than a video archive, while still leaving teams to decide which findings matter.
• Structured feedback: Post-playtest surveys and custom forms collect responses in a consistent format alongside recorded sessions.
• Recording and privacy: The browser recorder captures configured tracks locally and uploads video and audio in chunks after a session ends. Microphone capture is off by default, webcam video is not captured, and players must consent before recording starts. Production and recording data are hosted in the United States; data in transit uses TLS 1.2 or higher and data at rest uses AES-256 or equivalent encryption. Default recording retention is 12 months, with shorter periods configurable by workspace owners or per playtest.
• Game compatibility: Compatibility spans GameMaker, Defold, Godot, Unity, and Unreal Engine, as well as games distributed through Steam, Epic Games, GOG, itch.io, Chrome, Windows, macOS, Linux, and the web.

Pricing

The Indie plan is free, billed pay as you go, and allows up to 10 seats and 1,000 players, with unlimited playtests, 30-day recording retention, 25 announcement messages, and email support. It is a useful starting point for small teams, but its player ceiling and short retention can constrain larger or longer-running programs.

Essential costs $99 a month, billed annually. It raises the limits to 25 seats, 5,000 players, and 150 announcement messages, while keeping 30-day retention and unlimited playtests; priority support is included. This is the clearest step up for a team that needs more tester capacity but not longer recording storage.

Starter costs $199 a month, billed annually. It supports up to 75 seats, 10,000 players, 400 announcement messages, and 90-day retention, with unlimited playtests, multiplayer sessions, and priority support. Choose it when multiplayer testing or a longer review window matters.

Studio costs $359 a month, billed annually. Its limits rise to 125 seats, 25,000 players, and 1,000 announcement messages, with one-year retention, live gameplay sessions, and dedicated support. It is aimed at larger programs that need live sessions and greater capacity. All paid plans use annual billing, so the monthly price is not a month-to-month term.

Platforms

Userplay supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web. Its listed game compatibility includes desktop and browser games, alongside the named engines and storefronts.

Who it's for

Userplay is a strong fit for studios that want to connect Discord-based recruitment and key distribution with recording, session review, and structured feedback. Indie teams can begin without a subscription, while larger programs can buy more player capacity, retention, and support. It is less compelling for teams whose player-targeting needs exceed basic targeting or whose scale does not justify annual paid billing.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Unlimited playtests on every plan keep test frequency from being the main constraint; replays, transcripts, surfaced moments, and surveys bring several review tasks into one workflow; privacy controls make recording opt-in and leave webcam capture out.
• Cons: The free plan caps seats at 10 and players at 1,000, with only 30-day recording retention; paid plans are billed annually; player targeting is basic, which may not suit teams needing more specific recruitment.

Alternatives

Compare game playtesting platforms if you want to weigh Userplay against options across the category. Antidote is worth considering for a short, small-scale trial: its free trial lasts 14 days and covers one playtest, up to five community players, 20 survey questions, and sessions up to 20 minutes. FirstLook Engagement Analytics may suit teams prioritizing player-profile and email allowances, with a free tier offering 100,000 player profiles, up to 500 playtesters, and 1,000 emails per month.

PlayProbe offers a smaller free starting scope—one game, three tests, and 20 sessions per test—along with pre- and post-surveys and a results dashboard. Go Testify is another option for teams seeking unlimited playtesting and insight reports within one active project on its free Essential plan. AccelByte PlaytestHub is a free, open-source, self-hosted option that requires AccelByte Gaming Services (AGS) Extend.

Game Tester is an alternative for readers comparing game-testing software. Indieable may appeal to teams looking for a no-card, time-unlimited free plan covering tester recruitment and screening, keys and tracked BYO links, playtest rounds, feedback, and bug reports. Playcocola is another web-based alternative, with a free Hobbyist plan that includes one hour of video recording, thinking-aloud recording, text feedback, invitations to your own testers, and one-week video storage.

Verdict

Choose Userplay if your studio wants a single workflow for Discord-based recruitment, gameplay review, and structured feedback, with unlimited playtests even on the free plan. Its main trade-offs are finite player and seat allowances, short free-plan retention, basic targeting, and annual billing for paid tiers; teams that need more tailored recruitment or avoid annual commitments should compare alternatives.