The developer generates a Google Play URL, which includes marketing
attribution information and links to the game's Google Play Store listing
page, and uses it in an advertisement on the web or in an existing GPG on PC
game. It could look something like this:
In this example
utm_source%3Dsearch%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26utm_campaign%3Dsummerpromo
corresponds to the string created by the developer for marketing
attribution, and upon game installation is passed through the referrer
field to the game client.
When a PC user clicks on an ad with this link, they are redirected to the
game's listing page on the Google Play web
UI, which gives the user the option to
Install on Windows.
Clicking Install on Windows prompts the user to either open or download
the Google Play Games on PC client.
If the user already has the client installed, then clicking Open launches
the game's detail page on Google Play Games on PC and automatically start
the installation process.
If the user does not have Google Play Games on PC installed then clicking
Download initiated the download of the platform installer, and upon a
successful installation and setup of Google Play Games on PC, the game
automatically starts installing.
This is the same flow regardless if the user clicks the ad from the web
browser, or if it's within another GPG on PC game. For the latter, the
Google Play Games on PC client launches a browser with the game's listing
page on the Google Play Store web UI to initiate the download flow.
Upon successful install and launch, the developer can retrieve referrer
details within the game using the Google Play Install Referrer library.
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2024-09-19 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2024-09-19 UTC."],[],[],null,["# User Acquisition for Google Play Games on PC\n\nWith Google Play Games on PC, developers can run User Acquisition (UA) campaigns\nsimilar to how they do so with mobile Android phones today using the [Google\nPlay Install Referrer library](/google/play/installreferrer) and linking to the\n[Google Play Store\nlisting](/distribute/marketing-tools/linking-to-google-play#OpeningDetails).\n\nAs a sample scenario:\n\n1. The developer generates a Google Play URL, which includes marketing\n attribution information and links to the game's Google Play Store listing\n page, and uses it in an advertisement on the web or in an existing GPG on PC\n game. It could look something like this:\n\n https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sample.package&referrer=utm_source%3Dsearch%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26utm_campaign%3Dsummerpromo\n\n In this example\n `utm_source%3Dsearch%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26utm_campaign%3Dsummerpromo`\n corresponds to the string created by the developer for marketing\n attribution, and upon game installation is passed through the *referrer*\n field to the game client.\n | **Note:** The referrer string must be URL encoded, 512 characters or less, and included in the referrer query parameter of the Google Play URL.\n2. When a PC user clicks on an ad with this link, they are redirected to the\n game's listing page on the [Google Play web\n UI](https://play.google.com/store/games), which gives the user the option to\n *Install on Windows*.\n\n Clicking *Install on Windows* prompts the user to either open or download\n the Google Play Games on PC client.\n\n If the user already has the client installed, then clicking *Open* launches\n the game's detail page on Google Play Games on PC and automatically start\n the installation process.\n | **Note:** Depending on the browser, the user may need to accept a permission to allow the browser to open links within the Google Play Games on PC client\n\n If the user does not have Google Play Games on PC installed then clicking\n *Download* initiated the download of the platform installer, and upon a\n successful installation and setup of Google Play Games on PC, the game\n automatically starts installing.\n\n This is the same flow regardless if the user clicks the ad from the web\n browser, or if it's within another GPG on PC game. For the latter, the\n Google Play Games on PC client launches a browser with the game's listing\n page on the Google Play Store web UI to initiate the download flow.\n3. Upon successful install and launch, the developer can retrieve referrer\n details within the game using the Google Play Install Referrer library.\n\n| **Note:** After a user initiates an install through the Google Play web UI, the GPG on PC client will retain the referrer until the game is successfully installed (up to 28 days after the install was originally initiated). After a successful game install, the referrer details will be maintained on the client for 90 days, as is [standard for the Play Referrer\n| API](/google/play/installreferrer/igetinstallreferrerservice). As such, the referrer may be retained for at most 118 days."]]
