Push Notifications

Push notifications give games a channel to send immediate customized messages to a player’s device - even when the player is not currently running the game.

Notifications might be used to indicate that a user has received a message, that some update is available in game, or that the user needs to take some action. When used properly, they can be a very effective tool for improving your game’s retention by drawing players back into your game at key moments before churn.

Using PlayFab's push notifications feature, developers may send unlimited push notifications to any number of devices completely free of charge.

The following screenshot is an example from an Android device's notifications area showing a push notification.

As a best practice, you should tell players up front how you will be using the push notification service - including the value the notifications will provide to the player before they are given a system OS prompt to allow or disallow them.

Explaining how your game rewards or communicates via push notification can be the difference between building community engagement and driving players away. For more information about push notification best practices, check out this blog post.