Virality

Overview

Virality is built into Jest by design. Because the platform lives inside messaging - a surface that is inherently social - players can share and invite others as part of their natural behavior.

Jest turns these existing interactions into a distribution channel. From within a game, players can share invite links directly in their conversations or via social media, making every player a potential source of new users.

When a recipient taps an invite link, the game opens instantly in their browser - no app store, download, or upfront account creation required. This low-friction entry dramatically improves conversion.

Because these links support full attribution, Jest can identify who referred each player. This enables seamless onboarding and immediate reward distribution for both the sender and the recipient.

Example of a rich referral invite sent via messaging

The Jest virality framework

To build an effective growth engine on Jest, it’s critical to focus on the form of virality that actually drives new user acquisition. While several types of virality exist, only one directly expands your player base.

Type	What it is	Impact on growth	Role in your strategy
Outside-network virality	Players invite people who are not yet on Jest	High - directly drives new user acquisition	Primary focus
Within-network virality	Interactions between existing Jest users (e.g. leaderboards, competition)	Indirect - improves engagement and retention	Supporting
Soft virality	Passive sharing (e.g. generic “Share” buttons)	Low - rarely drives meaningful acquisition	Low priority

Outside-network virality is the core driver of growth. Because Jest games open instantly via link with minimal friction, it turns everyday messaging into a powerful acquisition channel.

A typical viral loop on Jest looks like this:

1. A player invites someone
2. The recipient joins instantly
3. Both receive value (e.g. rewards, progress, interaction)
4. The new player repeats the process

Design your core loop around this behavior, and use the other forms of virality to support engagement once players are already in the game.

Designing viral mechanics

Since outside-network virality is the primary driver of growth, it must be intentionally designed into your core game loop. The most effective implementations feel less like features and more like fundamental parts of the experience.

Design mindset

A useful heuristic: if removing the sharing mechanic does not meaningfully weaken your game loop, it’s not strong enough.

Inviting others should feel like the natural next step in gameplay - not an optional action buried in the UI. The goal is to make sharing intrinsic, not additive.

Core principles

1. Make sharing meaningfully rewarding
   Players invite others when the payoff is compelling. Rewards should have real impact within your game - unlocking content, accelerating progression, or enabling access to features. Sharing should feel like a high-leverage action, not a minor bonus.

2. Design for repeatability
   One-off invites limit growth. Strong viral loops give players a reason to invite repeatedly over time - through recurring rewards, evolving challenges, or systems that continuously benefit from new players. Your most engaged users should drive ongoing acquisition, not just a single spike.

3. Build for async, not sync
   Synchronous multiplayer is difficult to coordinate in messaging contexts. Asynchronous mechanics - such as turn-based play, challenges, or shared progress - fit naturally into how people communicate. They allow invites to convert without requiring both players to be active at the same time.

4. Use cooperation or competition intentionally
   Both can drive sharing, but they behave differently: _ Cooperation (teams, shared goals, pooled resources) tends to have broader appeal and encourages players to invite others to help them succeed. _ Competition (PvP, leaderboards) can be highly engaging but often appeals to a narrower audience.

Choose the dynamic that fits your core loop, and ensure it naturally creates reasons to invite others.

Technical implementation and attribution

Once you’ve designed your viral loop, Jest provides the tools to implement it and track its performance.

The Referrals API

The referrals SDK module enables you to trigger native share flows with custom messaging and rich preview cards. These flows are designed to maximize conversion while keeping sharing friction low.

Referral attribution with entryPayload

When a player joins via a referral link, the entryPayload is preserved and can be accessed after login using JestSDK.getEntryPayload().

This allows you to:

• attribute each new player to the exact referrer
• reward both players immediately upon entry
• track which features or mechanics are driving acquisition

By passing structured data through entryPayload, you can trigger contextual game logic based on how the player arrived - keeping your acquisition systems explicit, debuggable, and flexible.

Invited users can also be routed through dedicated onboardings, allowing you to tailor the first-time experience and further improve conversion.