Push notifications for mobile games: what works and what annoys

The short answer

Ask for notification permission only after the player has enjoyed the game, explain what they will get, and then send few, relevant messages tied to their own game state: your build finished, your energy is full, your friend beat your score, a new event has started. Cap frequency, send at the player's usual play time and measure opt-outs and uninstalls as carefully as opens.

Permission comes first

iOS has always required permission for notifications. Android has required it since version 13, as a runtime permission the app must request. If the user declines, asking again is limited, and many never visit settings to change it. So the first request matters.

• Do not ask on first launch. The player does not yet know why they would want it.
• Ask at a moment of value. After the first win, when a timer starts, or when they join an event.
• Use a pre-prompt. Your own short screen that says what they will receive, with a continue button that then triggers the system prompt. If they say not now on your screen, you have not used up the system request.
• Tie it to a benefit. We will tell you when your chest is ready is better than enable notifications.

Local and remote notifications

Remote messages travel through Apple's and Google's notification services, and tools such as Firebase Cloud Messaging provide one interface for both. Start with local notifications. They cover most gameplay timers and need no backend.

Types that work

Types that backfire

• Generic we miss you messages every day.
• Fake urgency about nothing.
• Sale after sale.
• Messages unrelated to what the player does in the game.
• Anything late at night.

When a notification annoys, the player disables all of them, including the useful ones. Many then uninstall.

Timing and frequency

• Send at the player's usual play time, learned from their sessions, in their local time zone.
• Respect quiet hours. Nothing overnight.
• Cap frequency. About one a day at most for active players, fewer for lapsed ones, with a hard weekly limit.
• Cancel what is no longer relevant. If the player already collected the reward, remove the reminder.
• Do not notify during play.
• Ramp down. If a lapsed player ignores several messages, stop.

Personalisation

A notification with the player's actual state outperforms a generic one: the name of the building that finished, the friend who challenged them, the level they are stuck on. Segment by behaviour too. New players, regulars, payers and lapsed players should not receive the same messages. This depends on having good event data. See game analytics events to track.

Deep links

Tapping a notification should open the relevant screen, not the title screen. An event notification opens the event. A gift notification opens the inbox. Each extra tap loses players.

Rich features

Both platforms support images, action buttons and grouping. iOS offers time-sensitive and scheduled summary behaviour, and Android uses notification channels that let users switch off one category while keeping another. Create sensible channels, such as gameplay timers, events and social, and mirror them in your own settings screen. Giving players control is the best protection against a total opt-out.

Store and legal rules

• Apple's guidelines say notifications must not be required for the app to function and must not be used for advertising or promotions without explicit opt-in, with a way to opt out.
• Google's policies prohibit deceptive or disruptive notifications.
• Marketing messages can fall under consent rules in privacy law.
• Games for children should avoid notifications designed to pull children back. See rules for kids games.

Check the current guideline wording before launching promotional campaigns.

Measuring

Always hold back a control group that receives nothing. Without it you cannot tell whether players came back because of the notification or would have returned anyway. Retention metrics are explained in mobile game KPIs.

Notifications inside LiveOps

Notifications announce things. They are not the things themselves. They work when the game has events, new content and social activity to announce. Plan them with the events calendar, as in our holiday LiveOps calendar and what LiveOps covers. In-game messages and an inbox reach players who declined notifications.

Technical checklist

1. Request permission at a chosen moment with a pre-prompt.
2. Register for remote notifications and store the token against the player.
3. Refresh tokens and remove dead ones.
4. Schedule local notifications when timers start, and cancel them when the player returns.
5. Create Android channels and matching in-game toggles.
6. Implement deep links.
7. Log sent, delivered and opened events.
8. Respect time zones and quiet hours on the server.
9. Test on real devices in the background and when closed, across OS versions.

Common mistakes

• Asking for permission on the first screen.
• The same message to everyone.
• No frequency cap.
• No cancellation of outdated reminders.
• Measuring opens and ignoring opt-outs.
• Using notifications to cover for a game with nothing new in it.

Getting help

We implement notification systems with segmentation and measurement for Unity and Unreal games, as part of builds or LiveOps retainers. Packages are on the offer page.

Sources: Firebase Cloud Messaging · Apple Developer: User Notifications · Android Developers: Notification runtime permission. Checked November 11, 2026.

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