Soft launch
Also said as Beta market, Test market
Releasing a mobile or live game quietly in a few countries to measure how people behave and fix it before the big release.
It finds problems when they are still cheap, but a small sample lies. Below a certain size, a healthy game can look dead and a dead one healthy, so work out how many installs you need before you run it. Be ready to act on the answer, including cancelling.
Say it
“Soft launch in two English-speaking countries, with enough installs to measure day 7 to within two points. Write down the kill bar before we start, and don't move it afterwards.”
Where you’ve seen it
Supercell tests in soft launch and is known for cancelling games there if the numbers do not hold up, as it did with Rush Wars.
Not to be confused with early access
Early access sells an unfinished game to fans who know it is unfinished. A soft launch is a quiet test in limited markets, mostly to measure.