The Problem
In the modern era of live ops events, experiences undergo frequent changes. It is not uncommon to see temporary icons like this on the front page:
In-game, these events are typically automatic and load new assets in after a global countdown hits zero, requiring zero work from the developer when the event goes live. On the web end, however, you cannot automate or schedule any changes and must perform them live. Some updates go live late at night and developers in odd time zones are not typically awake during peak hours when these events are typically scheduled.
The Solution
The settings page of an experience should include a tab to schedule temporary changes to descriptions, icons, and thumbnails for a game and allow you to repeat these changes on a schedule.
Use Cases/Examples
- Changing the icon of a game to a timer for a live ops event and not having to manually update the icon yourself every hour (see image 1)
- A game that grants 2x XP on the weekends automatically changing its name on loop each Saturday at 12:00 AM to add the prefix “(2x XP)” without requiring the developer to stay up late
- A winter thumbnail being automatically uploaded on December 1st and automatically reverted on February 1st without the developer needing to set a reminder to do so manually.