Most studios find us when they are already frustrated. They needed help optimizing their app store, so they hired an ASO agency. But all that happened was that they got a keyword ranking report every month, and six months later had no idea whether any of it was actually driving installs. 

So before you shortlist anyone, it is worth getting clear on what good ASO looks like for a game specifically, because it is not the same as ASO for a banking app or a fitness tracker.

This guide covers what to look for, what to avoid, and which agencies are worth considering in 2026. We have obviously included ourselves not because we're bragging but because we genuinely believe in the work that we do. And love working with our clients!

By the way, if you already have your app store up to scratch and need help in paid acquisition, read our guide to UA agencies for mobile games.

What ASO for games actually means: UA and ASO go hand in hand

A lot of generic ASO content conflates keyword ranking with growth. 

The reality is that very few players discover a new game by typing a genre search into the App Store. They see a video ad on TikTok, a playable on Meta or see a recommendation from a creator. This is why we're so passionate about combining UA with ASO.

What the store page does is convert that traffic, or lose it. 

Someone arrives with mild interest and your icon, screenshots, and preview video either push them to install or push them back out.

That means ASO for games is mostly store listing conversion work. Keyword optimisation still matters, especially for games with some brand recognition or niche appeal, but the highest-leverage ASO work for most studios is visual and creative: 

• testing icons, 

• screenshot sequences, 

• preview videos, 

• and custom product pages to understand what actually persuades someone to tap install.

There is a second implication that most studios miss.

ASO and UA go hand in hand 

Because your store page sits at the bottom of every paid UA funnel, an improvement in store conversion does not just help your organic installs. It improves the economics of every campaign you are running. A better icon can reduce your effective CPI across all your traffic sources without spending an extra euro on media.

That is why the agencies worth talking to for gaming ASO are usually the ones who understand how the store page connects to your broader acquisition strategy, not the ones who treat it as an isolated SEO task.

How to use this guide to find an agency?

The agencies below cover a range of specialisations. Some are pure-play ASO shops. Some are full-service agencies where ASO is one strong pillar. Some, like us, are embedded teams where ASO is integrated with UA and analytics from the start.

The right choice depends on what you actually need. 

→ If your store page is the only bottleneck, a dedicated ASO specialist makes sense. 

→ If your real challenge is that UA, ASO, and creative are all disconnected and nothing is working, you probably need an integrated partner rather than another specialist silo.

We have tried to be honest about who is best for what. We have not included agencies we cannot verify.

Agency Comparison table

The Best ASO agencies worth considering in 2026

Hubapps: Best for Indie to mid-size game studios

Founded: 2024 | Location: Remote | Size: Small embedded team

Hubapps is not a traditional ASO agency, and we never want to be. We are an embedded consultancy, which means our ASO specialists work inside your team rather than managing a retainer from a distance.

For studios where ASO is one part of a broader growth challenge, this matters. We have been running ASO and UA for mobile games since 2011 across gaming, fintech, and lifestyle apps. Our view is that the store page is part of your acquisition system, not a separate discipline, and we structure our work accordingly. That means ASO decisions at Hubapps are always made with an eye on what the paid campaigns are telling us and vice versa.

We work on transparent costs that keeps our incentives aligned with yours.

• Strengths: Senior specialists only, embedded model, ASO and UA integrated from day one, transparent pricing
  
  

• Best for: Indie to mid-size game studios that want ASO and UA run together by a team that is genuinely inside their processes

How we started Hubapps

🌟 How We Started Hubapps | From Coffee Shop Chats to Global Growth

Phiture: Best for: Large publishers or studios

Founded: 2016 | Location: Berlin | Size: ~120 people

Phiture is probably the most widely cited ASO agency in the industry, and the reputation is deserved on the tooling and process side. The agency co-authored Advanced App Store Optimization: The Complete Guide to ASO, runs the ASO Stack Slack community, and built PressPlay, an AI-driven Play Store A/B testing tool that achieved a 57% conversion rate improvement for Avakin Life. Their proprietary Catchbase tool applies machine learning to Apple Search Ads bidding, which is a genuine differentiator for studios running ASO and ASA in parallel. 

One thing to know going in: Phiture was acquired by Precis, a Stockholm-based performance marketing group, in early 2026. It is too early to say what that means for their independence or specialisation, but it is worth asking the question directly if you are evaluating them. 

Their client base skews toward large consumer apps. If you are a mid-size or indie gaming studio, you may not be their priority account.

• Strengths: Deep tooling, strong experimentation framework, localization at scale, Apple Search Ads integration
  Best for: Large publishers or studios where ASO at scale and localization breadth are the primary requirements

Gummicube: Best for US-based studios

Founded: 2009 | Location: San Jose, California | Size: ~80 people

Gummicube is one of the oldest dedicated ASO agencies in the industry. Co-founders Dave Bell and Anh Nguyen are credited with helping establish the ASO category itself. They have built two proprietary tools: DATACUBE for market intelligence and keyword research, and Splitcube for A/B testing of store creatives and metadata. Their client roster includes SEGA on the gaming side, alongside enterprise brands like NBCUniversal, Grubhub, and LinkedIn. 

Where Gummicube stands out is in the depth of their proprietary data layer. DATACUBE pulls live App Store and Google Play data rather than web search proxies, which makes keyword targeting more accurate than most off-the-shelf ASO tools. For studios that want a data-first, tool-backed ASO process, they are one of the most credible options available.

• Strengths: Proprietary ASO technology, long track record, strong keyword research methodology, Apple Search Ads management

• Best for: US-based studios and mid-size publishers that want a pure-play ASO specialist with genuine in-house tooling

  
  

Yodel Mobile

Founded: ~2008 | Location: London | Size: ~25 people

Yodel Mobile is an award-winning global app marketing agency with more than 18 years in mobile, often cited as a pioneer in the space. Their ASO 360 program integrates keyword optimisation, metadata, A/B testing, and paid UA into a single growth strategy rather than treating them as separate tracks. They are one of the few agencies on this list that explicitly frames gaming ASO differently from general app ASO, which matters. 

Their published gaming-specific content is worth reading before you call them. They understand that conversion-focused ASO is more important than keyword ranking for most game categories, which puts them ahead of agencies that apply the same framework to every app vertical. Publicly available case studies are heavier on consumer apps and retail clients, so if you are evaluating them for games specifically, ask for comparable references. 

• Strengths: Long track record, holistic approach that connects ASO to UA, gaming-aware thinking, strong localization

• Best for: Studios that want ASO embedded in a broader growth strategy rather than as a standalone deliverable

AppAgent

Founded: 2016 | Location: Prague | Size: ~40 people

AppAgent is worth including here even though their primary identity is as a full-service mobile game growth agency rather than a pure ASO shop. The reason is that their approach to ASO is directly integrated with creative strategy and paid UA, which is the right model for most gaming studios. Store experiments at AppAgent are not separated from creative testing, they feed each other.

Their GamePlan diagnostic process is a useful starting point if you are not sure whether your primary bottleneck is the store page, the creative, or the campaign structure. It is a paid engagement, but it produces a clear brief rather than another 50-page audit document that nobody acts on.

• Strengths: Integrated creative and ASO thinking, strong gaming focus, structured diagnostic process

• Best for: Mobile game studios that want multiple services

What to ask before you hire anyone to do your ASO?

Before you even look at an agency's pitch deck, ask them these questions:

What is your process for testing store creatives? 

Not "do you run tests" but specifically how. How many variants, over what timeframe, with what traffic volume. Agencies that cannot answer this clearly are probably doing metadata work and calling it ASO.

How do you think about the relationship between the store page and paid UA? 

If they treat ASO and UA as completely separate workstreams, that is a flag. The store page is part of your paid funnel whether you treat it that way or not.

Can you show me a gaming case study? 

Not an app. A game. The dynamics are different enough that experience in one category does not automatically transfer to the other.

How do you separate keyword gains from conversion gains in your reporting? 

These are two different things and a good ASO partner should be able to show you both, clearly.

The question nobody asks but should

Most studios go into an ASO search looking for someone who can improve their keyword rankings. That is the wrong starting question.

The right starting question is: where in our store funnel are we losing people, and why?

Sometimes the answer is keyword visibility. More often, for games, it is something in the creative. The icon is not communicating the right genre cues. The screenshot sequence is showing feature shots instead of gameplay. The preview video is using assets designed for a paid ad rather than a store visit.

A good ASO agency should be able to answer that question before they propose anything. If the first thing they show you is a keyword list, push back.

How we think about ASO at Hubapps

We have been doing this since 2011. What we have seen over that time is that the studios who get the most out of ASO are not the ones who hired the biggest agency. They are the ones who connected their store page work to everything else they were doing in growth.

⏩ Feel free to check out our Ultimate Guide to ASO for Mobile Games.

If you want to talk through where ASO fits in your current setup, book a discovery call and we will give you an honest view of where the leverage is.

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