Community
Experience

Turning groups into a community that keeps playing

Playo already had Groups, but they were primarily a way to keep players together. The experience had limited information and no proper way to see what was happening next.

We rethought Groups as Squads: a richer social space where players could understand the community, discover upcoming games, communicate and keep playing together.

~150

Squads created at peak

~7K

Squad joins at peak

2.5K+

Activities tagged to Squads at peak

Context & Problem

The game was happening. The community wasn’t.

Playo's Groups helped players come together, but they didn't give the community much context. There was no proper way to understand what the group was about, discover upcoming games or stay connected between activities.

Players could join the group. But they couldn't easily understand who the community was, what was happening next or how the group connected to their play.

The Opportunity

What would make someone come back to their community even when they weren’t playing?

The original Groups experience — a plain group chat with limited context — Existing Groups experience

The Shift - From groups to squads

The goal wasn't to create another social feature. It was to make the existing community behaviour more meaningful.

Before and after — the original group chat next to the new Squad chat — From Groups to Squads

Squad Identity - Giving every squad a face

A community starts with knowing what it is. We added a description, display picture and richer member context so players could understand what a Squad was about before joining.

Description: Explain what the squad is about
Display Picture: Make the community recognisable
Members: Show who you’re actually playing with

Squad Profile

Squad Calendar - Making what’s next easier to find

Previously, players had no dedicated place to understand what was happening inside a Group. The new Squad calendar brings upcoming games into one place, making it easier for members to see what's coming up and decide when they want to play.

Squad calendar — upcoming games in one glanceable view — Squad Calendar

Connected Activities - Connecting squads to actual games

The squad shouldn’t exist separately from the game. When creating an activity, hosts can now tag it to a squad. Members can then discover the game through their community and join it directly.

Squad → Activity → Members → Play

This created a clearer connection between the people, the community and the activity

Activity sharing sheet with the Tag Squad option — Tagging a squad from the activity

Squad Chat - Keeping the community alive between games

The relationship shouldn't end when the game does. Squad Chat gives members a space to coordinate, talk about upcoming games and stay connected between activities

“The game creates the connection. The community keeps it going”

Squad Chat — members coordinating an upcoming game — Squad Chat

The Impact - The behaviour started showing up

The redesigned experience wasn't just about creating Squads. We wanted to see whether people were actually using them as part of their play.

~150

Squads created at peak

Weekly squad creation, rising to about 150 at peak

Chart : Squad Creation by Week

~7K

Squad joins at peak

Weekly squad joins, climbing to about 7,000 at peak

Chart : Squad join by week

2.5K+

Activities tagged to Squads at peak

Cumulative activities tagged to squads, passing 2,500

Chart : Activities tagged to a squad

Community Voices - When players talk about finding their people

The strongest sign of a community experience is what happens outside the product. Social posts and messages from players can show how people describe finding a regular group, meeting new players and finally having a community to play with.