Seasonal and themed updates: how to increase engagement and boost revenue

Holidays aren’t just a time to celebrate, but also an effective tool for product growth. Even a small themed update can spark users’ interest, bring them back to your app, attract new audiences and boost revenue.

Why holiday updates work

The novelty effect

Products with regular updates tend to perform better than static ones. An update is in itself a reason to check out your product, especially if you have a loyal audience.

Emotional context

Holidays amplify emotions. Think back to that festive feeling — the desire to be a part of celebrations and share it with others. This creates a natural growth opportunity for your product. 

Urgency and time-limited offers

Time-based urgency encourages users to act immediately, whether it’s claiming a discount, unlocking exclusive achievements, completing bonus levels, or buying limited edition skins.

A reason to connect to your audience

Updates provide great opportunities to engage with your community. Create a community post, share a story, send a notification, or reach out via direct messages from your official community.

It also encourages users to share content from your app and tell their friends about the update.

What to include in an update

🎮 For games

• time-limited events or game modes: give your players a fresh experience

• seasonal skins, backgrounds, or characters: from a simple festive decoration to releasing a new hero

• time-limited rewards or bonuses: engage users and encourage them to stay around for longer

• themed missions or challenges: introduce new experiences for users, and test features for future bigger updates while you’re at it

🛠 For mini apps

• curated content collections: immerse users in the key topic and keep their focus

• holiday design: from subtle tweaks to special effects and animations

• time-limited bonuses and advanced features: encourage users to make future purchases

• personalized greetings and recaps:  inspire sharing and bring positive emotions

👥 Universal recommendations

• design consistency: update icons and visuals via the developer dashboard, add small interface details. Keep your product recognizable: users should return to a familiar app with a new twist

• time-limited promotions and offers: for example, “Log in today to receive a gift”, “Clear a mini quest in 3 days and complete a new themed collection”

• new gamification elements and mechanics can benefit any app, not just games

💡 Pro tip

Add a “remove animations” parameter to your settings. Those who are used to calmer and less dynamic interfaces will appreciate it

How to choose an update idea

Ask yourself three questions:

• What’s relevant to my audience right now?

• What small change can have a big impact?

• What can users do or unlock only right now?

Your seasonal update doesn’t have to be big. Sometimes one prominent feature is enough. The key is to present your update clearly and effectively.

Give a fresh look to your product

Make sure your seasonal design matches the app icon, banners, and other key elements that introduce your product to users

Add an in-app welcome screen or a banner

When users open the app for the first time, make sure they immediately know about the update.

Tell everyone about the update

Build a marketing plan. Use community posts, notifications, direct messages, and other channels on and off the platform to maximize the reach.

Utilize social media mechanics and sharing

Create a conversion funnel: smoothly guide users from launching a service or game to buying exclusive goods. Give your audience a reason to share their purchases or other themed app content. The content you offer should evoke emotions in your existing users and attract new ones.

✅ Themed update checklist

Before release

• A clear key topic and a clear understanding of who it works for and why

• An update that’s easy to explain to users

• A clear time frame for a limited update: 1–3 days, a week, or 48 hours

• An element of novelty or a time-based urgency

• The update doesn’t disrupt the usual user experience. Your mini app or game remains recognizable

In the product

• You have a visual accent: a banner, interface theme, an updated main screen, new design elements
• Changes are immediately noticeable to users

• Themed content displays correctly on every platform

Communication

• You have a clear marketing plan and know how you’ll announce the update

• Content for posts and DM campaigns is finalized, notifications are scheduled and tested

• Paid promotion is enabled, if needed

After the release

• Monitor key metrics and audience response

• Collect user feedback

• Keep track of what worked and what didn’t

Most importantly

Themed updates shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Make them a product development tool instead.

Start small and slowly make themed updates a regular part of your product strategy.