> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://gamelauncher.cloud/help/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://gamelauncher.cloud/help/changelog/2026/july-16-2026.md). # July 16, 2026 ## App & Launcher Analytics {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** A full **Analytics** area is now in the dashboard. You can see who plays each of your games, how often they come back, which builds they are on, and where they drop off. {% endhint %} **Analytics** is a new entry in the sidebar with five pages: **Analytics Overview**, **App Analytics**, **Launcher Analytics**, **Real-time Analytics** and **Hardware Survey**. Every page has a **Data Range** selector (from **Last Hour** to **Last Year**), a **Resources** filter to switch between your own resources and your teams', and **Export CSV**. ### Online vs playing Two figures show up throughout, and they do not mean the same thing: * **Online Users**: players with a launcher **open right now**, in a game or not. * **Playing Now** *(Playing Sessions)*: players **in a game right now**. Always a subset of the above. Launchers report every 60 seconds, so live figures can lag reality by up to a minute, and a launcher that stops reporting (or crashes) ages out after about 3 minutes. ### Analytics Overview A platform-wide view across everything you own: **Total Users**, **Total Downloads**, **Online Users**, **Playing Sessions**, **Total Launchers** and **Total Apps**, each with its own chart over time, plus your **Top Launchers** and **Top Apps** by sessions, peak hours and average online users.

Analytics Overview

### App Analytics

App Analytics

Pick a game from **Select app**: * **Key Performance Metrics**: **Daily** and **Monthly Active Players**, **Stickiness** (DAU / MAU), **Total Downloads**, **Average Session** and **Retention (7d)**. * **Retention by Cohort**: players grouped by the day they were first seen, tracked at day 1, 7 and 30. * **Download to First Launch Funnel**: downloads → installs → first launches, so you can see the step where you lose people. * **Version Distribution**: who is on which version or build ID. * **Geographic Distribution**: where your players are. * **Lifecycle**: installs, updates, manual repairs and uninstalls per day. A spike in repairs usually points at broken build files. * **DLC**, **Private Beta Unlocks** and **Launch Parameters**: DLC activity, players who redeemed an environment access code, and the most used custom launch parameters. * **Version Updates** and **Buttons and Links**: who moved from one build to another and when, and which parts of the launcher UI players actually click. ### Launcher Analytics
The same idea, scoped to a launcher: * **Key Performance Metrics**: **Current Online Users**, **Playing Now**, **Daily** and **Monthly Active Users**, **Stickiness**, **Peak Users Today**, **Average Session**, **Retention (7d)** and **Total Downloads**. * **Charts**: **Active Users**, **New Users** (your acquisition, as opposed to people coming back), **Retention by Cohort** and **Online Users Over Time**. * **Launcher Build Distribution**: how fast a deploy actually reaches your users, and who is stuck on an old build. * **Apps in Launcher**: every linked app with its players online and in game right now. * **Settings Usage**: the most common language, resolution, install location, on-launch action, download speed limit and auto login among active players. * **Most Selected Apps**: how long players keep each app selected in the launcher. {% hint style="info" %} Analytics are collected automatically by the launcher, so there is nothing to instrument. Charts fill in as soon as your players are on an up-to-date launcher build. {% endhint %} *** ## Hardware Analytics {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** See the machines your players actually run your games on: GPU, CPU, memory, operating system, displays and drives. {% endhint %}

Hardware Analytics

Open **Analytics → Hardware** and choose a **Scope**, **By app** or **By launcher**. Each section is a distribution, with the number of **players surveyed** behind it: * **Graphics**: GPU vendor, GPU model and video memory. * **Processor**: CPU vendor, CPU model, physical cores and base clock. * **Memory**: system memory. * **Operating system**: OS, version, architecture and language. * **Display**: screen resolution, monitors and display scaling. * **Storage**: drive type (SSD or HDD), capacity and free space. Use it to decide what to actually support: minimum specs worth advertising, whether a low VRAM path is worth building, or which resolution to design your UI against. A condensed version also appears on each app's analytics page, with **Full survey** opening the complete breakdown, and **Export CSV** takes the raw distribution with you. {% hint style="info" %} The launcher reports the machine on its own, once per launcher and once per app, and only when something changes (it re-checks every 30 days). The dashboard shows aggregate distributions, not individual machines. {% endhint %} *** ## Embedded Web Panels (WebView) {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** On **Pro and higher** plans, launchers can now show **web pages right inside the desktop app** (a store, leaderboards, live stats, or a community hub), powered by Microsoft Edge WebView2. {% endhint %} A new **Web Panels** section is available in each launcher's settings. Add one or more panels, and each renders as real in-app web content, with no separate browser window.

Game Launcher Desktop - Embedded WebView

### Configuring a panel * **URL**: the page the panel loads. * **Title & icon**: the label and icon shown in the launcher. * **Presentation**: show the panel as a **Tab** (a dedicated entry in the launcher's top navigation bar) or as a **Window** (opened on demand in a secondary window). * **Enable / disable**: turn a panel off without deleting it. The number of panels you can add is set by your plan (**Pro and above**). *** ## Login System: Free Plan {% hint style="success" %} **CHANGED:** The Login System add-on's free tier is now a **permanent Free plan**, with no more time-limited trial. Every launcher gets it automatically, free forever. {% endhint %}

Login System - Free Plan

Previously the Login System started with a **free trial** you had to activate and that eventually expired. That's gone. The free tier is now a standing **Free plan**, with no activation and no expiry. * Up to **100 monthly active users (MAU)** * **$0 forever**: no credit card required * Standard rate and email limits to get started When you're ready to grow, upgrade to **Starter, Standard, Growth, or Pro** for higher MAU, rate, and email limits, right from the Login System add-on page. *** ## Bring Your Own Auth (Custom Auth) {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** The **Login System** add-on now lets you pick your **Authentication Provider**: keep our platform-managed accounts, or point the launcher at **your own player database** through an endpoint you host. {% endhint %}

Authentication Provider Selector in the Dashboard (Auth System Addon)

The Login System add-on page now has an **Authentication Provider** selector with two options: * **Game Launcher Cloud** *(platform-managed)*: We host your players' accounts entirely: signup, login, and password reset, all handled for you. This is the existing behavior. * **Your Own System** *(bring your own auth)*: Players sign in with the account they **already have** in your database. Instead of storing credentials, we call an HTTPS endpoint **you host** to validate them. ### How it works When a player signs in, the launcher forwards their identifier + password to our backend, which sends an **HMAC-signed** request to your endpoint. Your endpoint checks the credentials against your own database and replies `valid: true`/`false`. We never store your players' passwords; your database stays the single source of truth. ### What you can configure * **Login identifier**: Choose whether players log in with their **Email** or **Username**, to match what your endpoint expects. * **Custom field label**: Rename the identifier field on the login screen to whatever your game calls it (for example *Gamertag* or *Player ID*). * **Shared secret**: Generated for you automatically (shown once) and used to sign every request, so your code can confirm it really came from us. One click to **Regenerate** and rotate it. * **Timeout**: How long we wait for your endpoint to respond, from 1 to 30 seconds (default 10). * **Test Connection**: Verify your endpoint is reachable and your signature check passes before you go live. * **Player Account Links**: Optional **Create account** and **Forgot password** URLs opened in the player's browser, since account management now lives in your database. Leave either blank to hide the link.

"Create an account" and "Forgot password" in the Login Screen

{% hint style="info" %} Switching to Your Own System only replaces the **email/username + password** login. **Guest login**, **social sign-in** (Google, Discord, Patreon), and **Managed Access** still work and continue to be handled by the platform, so you can offer them alongside your own accounts. {% endhint %} Full setup and endpoint contract: [Custom Auth (Bring Your Own Auth)](https://github.com/GameLauncherCloud/GameLauncherCloud-Gitbook/tree/main/docs/addons/custom-auth.md). *** ## In-Launcher Privacy Policy & Terms of Service {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** Your **Privacy Policy** and **Terms of Service** can now be shown **right inside the launcher**, instead of only opening an external website. {% endhint %}

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service - Integrated in the Launcher Desktop

Setup Privacy Policy & Terms of Service in the Dashboard (Launcher Settings → Appearance → External URLs)

A new **Privacy Policy & Terms of Service Display** section is available under **Launcher Settings → Appearance → External URLs**. Each document can be presented in one of two ways, configured independently: * **External Link**: Tapping the document opens your own URL in the player's browser (the existing behavior). * **Integrated (shown in-app)**: Write your policy directly in the dashboard and it's rendered **as Markdown inside the launcher's Settings window**, with no browser trip and no separate hosting. When a document is set to **Integrated**, a Markdown editor appears where you paste or write the content, and a **Last Updated** date is stamped automatically whenever you change the text. Players see the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy links in the launcher's **Settings** window (and on the sign-in screen when the Login System is enabled), opening in-app or externally according to your choice. *** ## Archive Applications & Launchers {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** You can now **archive** an app or launcher instead of deleting it. Archiving **frees the slot** so you can create new ones and **frees storage** by removing its builds, while **keeping the record** so you can **restore it later**. {% endhint %}

Archive Launcher

Deleting is permanent. **Archiving** is the new, reversible alternative for when you're done with a project for now but don't want to lose it. ### What archiving does * **Frees your quota slot**: the archived app or launcher no longer counts toward your plan limit, so you can create new ones. * **Frees storage**: its Cloudflare builds are deleted. Your icon, logo, and settings are kept, so the record still looks right. * **Unlinks it**: an archived app is removed from every launcher; an archived launcher is unlinked from its apps and stops serving updates to players. * **Keeps the record**: nothing is permanently destroyed. The app or launcher simply disappears from your lists and sidebar. ### How to archive Open the app or launcher → **Settings → Advanced**, then use the **Archive** card. You'll be asked to type the name to confirm. ### Restoring (unarchive) * From the **Launchers → Archived** page you can see everything you've archived and **Restore** it with one click. * Opening an archived app directly also shows a **Restore** option in **Settings → Advanced**. Restoring makes the item count toward your quota again. If you're already at your limit, you'll be prompted to **buy an extra slot** or **upgrade your plan** before it can be restored. Previously deleted builds are not brought back, so upload a new build after restoring. {% hint style="info" %} Archiving is available to the **owner** of the app or launcher (and to platform admins). {% endhint %} Details: [Application Settings → Archive](https://github.com/GameLauncherCloud/GameLauncherCloud-Gitbook/tree/main/docs/apps/app-settings.md#archive-application). *** ## Launcher Builder Revamp {% hint style="success" %} **CHANGED:** Launcher customization is now the **Launcher Builder**: a full-screen editor with a zoomable canvas, a menu bar and a searchable settings panel, instead of one long list of settings next to a fixed preview. {% endhint %} Same settings, reorganized into an editor that behaves like one.

Launcher Builder

### The canvas The **Launcher Preview** now sits on a canvas you can move around: * **Zoom**: the mouse wheel zooms toward the cursor, or use **Zoom in** (`Ctrl +`), **Zoom out** (`Ctrl -`), **Zoom to 100%** (`Ctrl+1`) and **Fit** (`Ctrl+0`). * **Pan**: **Space + drag** or **middle click + drag**. * **Preview tabs**: switch between the **Launcher**, the **Launcher Installation Wizard** and the **App Install Window**, plus the taskbar and startup previews. ### The settings panel * **Search settings**: type to jump straight to a setting instead of hunting through categories. * **Show sections**: scope the panel to **All**, **Launcher** (shared settings) or **App** (per-app overrides). * **Categories**: settings are grouped into Images, Window & Theme, Buttons, Panels, Navigation, Watermark, News Layout and Layout. * **Move the panel** to the left or the right of the canvas from the **View** menu. ### The menu bar **File**, **View**, **Publish** and **Help** replace the buttons that used to be scattered around the page: * **File**: Apply Changes, Reset, Import config, Export config, Browse presets and Exit to overview. * **View**: the zoom controls, and moving the settings panel left or right. * **Publish**: Deploy and downloads, Build history, Copy installer link and Copy ZIP link. * **Help**: Documentation, Keyboard shortcuts, AI Assistant, Help center and Contact support. An **Unsaved Changes** marker tracks your edits, **Apply Changes** commits them and **Reset** rolls them back. {% hint style="info" %} Settings tagged **Requires launcher update** only reach players after a new launcher deploy. The rest apply as soon as you refresh the desktop launcher. {% endhint %} *** ## Selected Page Highlight (top navigation) {% hint style="success" %} **NEW FEATURE:** In the **Launcher Builder** you can now choose **how the selected page is highlighted** in your launcher's top navigation bar. {% endhint %} Open the **Launcher Builder**, go to the **Navigation** section, and use the new **Selected Page Highlight** control to pick one of four styles. The live preview updates instantly, and your choice is applied to the desktop launcher's top navigation. * **Shaded Letters** *(default)*: the active page's label stands out while the others are dimmed.

Shaded Letters

* **Glowing Letters**: the active label takes your accent color with a soft glow.

Glowing Letters

* **Soft Gradient**: a subtle bottom-up gradient sits behind the active item.

Soft Gradient

* **Underline**: a clean accent-colored line appears under the active item.

Underline

{% hint style="info" %} Deploy a new launcher build to ship the change to your players. {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://gamelauncher.cloud/help/changelog/2026/july-16-2026.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.