Pre-Launch Listings and Sales
Updated: Sep 6, 2024
Creating a pre-launch listing through the Developer Dashboard helps you initiate marketing campaigns and build a community for your app before its launch. There are two types of pre-launch listings:
Coming soon pages let users wishlist your app and notify them when it launches or has future sales.
Pre-order pages, similar to coming soon pages, allow users to commit to purchasing the app. Users are charged 24 hours before the launch date.
Once your pre-launch listings are set and you’re ready to launch, submit a full release for immediate app purchase and download.
Eligibility and guidelines
- Pre-order prices can’t be changed during the pre-order period.
- You can only create coming soon and pre-order pages during the initial app submission process.
- Meta cannot create a pre-launch listing if the app has already been submitted.
- Coming soon and pre-order pages are subject to approval. The app submission process must be completed and approved before the pre-launch listing goes live.
- Create a coming soon page up to 180 days and a pre-order page up to 90 days before launch.
- Ensure you are launch-ready 14 days before your intended app release date by completing a full release submission and setting a release date after Meta approves your pre-launch listing.
- Start early by creating a coming soon page as soon as your product details and assets are ready. Convert this to a pre-order page to begin sales as you approach the launch.
- Set a realistic release date to avoid customer disappointment.
- If at 14 days before your intended app release date you do not have a Meta-approved full release with a scheduled date, submit another pre-order with a future date. Out of platform obligations to your customers, if at 2 days prior to your intended app release date, you do not have a Meta-approved full release with a scheduled date, order fulfillment for your pre-orders will be paused until a new launch date is provided. For more information, see Meta Horizon Store Policies.
- Actively market your app using various platforms to drive traffic to your pre-launch page. For more information, see Short Links.
- Offer incentives like a free add-on to encourage pre-orders.
Create a pre-launch listing
To create a pre-launch listing:
- Go to the Developer Dashboard and select your app.
- From the left-side navigation, select Distribution and then click App Submissions.
- Select the app version to submit and start filling in the app data and metadata.
- In the Pricing tab, choose Pre-Order or Coming Soon as your Listing Type. For pre-orders, set the app price and consider including a free add-on to boost pre-orders. Remember, the price cannot change once set.
- Select a Release Date Granularity that matches your confidence in meeting the timeline.
- Define your Intended App Release Date based on the chosen granularity.
Update a pre-launch listing
Once your pre-launch listing is created, you can make limited changes by creating another app submission.
- Switch from coming soon to pre-order.
- Modify the release date and/or its granularity.
The following changes are not allowed:
- Reverting from pre-order to coming soon, as it cancels all existing pre-orders.
- Changing the pre-order price once approved.
- Adding or removing add-ons included in the pre-order.
- Moving the release date to within 2 weeks of the current date to allow users ample time to cancel if needed.
Add-ons are great as incentives for people to pre-order your app.
To include add-ons in a pre-order:
- Add-ons must be free to be included in a pre-order.
- Leave Show In Store unchecked.
If you want to sell the add-on in the store once the app launches, submit a separate add-on with Show In Store checked and the desired price selected.
Price A/B testing is available for both coming soon and pre-order listings. Price A/B testing can be an effective tool to increase your total number of app conversions. By publishing two different versions of an app’s pre-launch product detail page (PDP), you can compare the conversion rates (purchases) between them to see which performs better.
You can set up price A/B testing in the Developer Dashboard. For more information, see:
After you have configured your pre-launch listings and are ready to launch your app, create a full release. If you aren’t launch ready 14 days before your original intended app release date, submit a new pre-order for your app with a later release date. To submit a full release for your app:
- Go to the Developer Dashboard and select your app.
- From the left-side navigation, select Distribution and then click App Submissions.
- Click on the version of the app that you want to submit and begin to fill in the data and metadata for your app.
- When you get to the Pricing tab, from Listing Type, select Full Release.
- Complete the Build tab. For more information, see Uploading Your VR Apps.
- Complete the App Metadata tab.
- Select Submit for Review.
- Wait for Meta-approval. You will receive an email once the full release is approved by Meta.
- To complete the full release submission, you must set a release date. This will result in your full release being scheduled for visibility on the Store.
Pre-order metrics can be viewed from the
Developer Dashboard. From the left-side navigation, expand
Analytics and then click
Revenue to view the following metrics:
- Unique pre-orders - The number of orders for your app before it’s released. This doesn’t include canceled pre-orders.
- Projected revenue - The approximate amount of money you’re projected to earn through pre-orders, before tax and discounts.
- Fulfilled - The number of pre-orders for which payment was successfully collected. Payment is collected 24 hours before apps are released.
- Unfulfilled - The number of pre-orders for which payment couldn’t be collected. This doesn’t include canceled pre-orders.
- Fulfillment rate - The percentage of pre-orders for which payment was successfully collected. Payment is collected 24 hours before apps are released. Fulfillment rate is rarely 100% due to payment method failures.
- Revenue - The approximate amount of money earned through pre-orders, after tax and discounts. Revenue doesn’t include any in-app revenue or Meta Horizon platform fees.
