Bruin for Mobile Games
$10,000 in credits and an engineer to help you build your game data stack.
A Bruin support engineer runs your onboarding and helps your team connect Firebase, your MMP, and your warehouse. The program is free, and no other data platform offers hands-on support like this for game studios.
Used by game studios like
How it works
Start for free. Apply once you are ready.
The first two steps cost nothing and require no application.
- 1
Book a planning call
Open to every studio, with nothing to qualify for. Nothing is built on this call.
30 minutes - 2
Build V1 with a Bruin engineer
A working session where we connect Firebase, your MMP, and your warehouse. Or follow the templates yourself.
Free - 3
Apply, or carry on for free
Plenty of studios stop here at no cost. Apply if you want the managed platform.
Optional
Book a planning call
A Bruin engineer runs every session, so the free ones are limited in capacity.
The program
Who qualifies, and what the program includes.
Qualification is simple: the game you apply with has fewer than 10,000 daily active users. There is no funding, headcount, or accelerator requirement, the program is free, and we take no equity. Studios that meet the three requirements below can apply.
You qualify if
- < 10k DAUon the game you apply with, measured as a rolling 28-day average. Eligibility is per game, not per studio, so a larger studio can still apply with any title under the threshold.
- 1 pipelinerunning in Bruin Cloud on the free tier. As part of the free pre-program onboarding, a Bruin engineer helps you set it up, so this is not a barrier.
- Work emailon a studio domain with a live website. Personal Gmail and Outlook addresses are not accepted.
DAU is measured on the individual game you apply with, as a rolling 28-day average across all platforms, not across your studio's whole portfolio. Getting a first pipeline running is free, and we will help you do it before you apply.
You get
- $10,000 in Bruin Cloud creditsValid for 12 months from the day the credits are activated on your account.
- A named support engineerA Bruin engineer who runs your onboarding, helps your team connect Firebase, your MMP, and your warehouse, and stays available for support. This is an engineering role, not a sales one.
- A dedicated Slack channelYour support engineer and the Bruin engineering team, in one shared channel with your team.
- Up to 25% off after the programApplied to the annual plan for the 12 months following the program. You can move to the free tier instead. Nothing is charged automatically.
On the call we can check your eligibility together. Applying directly takes 2 business days.
Free for everyone
Getting your first pipeline running.
This is step two, and none of it requires an application or a payment. Everything below is public and the Bruin CLI is free and open source, so you can deploy to Bruin Cloud's free tier or to your own infrastructure.
If you would rather not do it alone, book a planning call and a Bruin engineer will work through it with you. Studios already in the program get the same help from their support engineer.
Recurring office hours are announced in the Bruin Slack community, which is open to everyone.
Templates
All templates Clone with bruin init. Ingestion, models, and checks already wired up.
Firebase → BigQuery App events, player models, and daily cohorts.GA4 + Search Console → BigQuery Organic search reporting from GA4 and Search Console. Google Sheets → BigQuery UA spend, LiveOps calendars, and manual data into your warehouse.SEO Optimizer Agent GuideAn agent that reads GA4 and Search Console, opens PRs, and reports to Slack. Using Bruin templates GuideScaffold, configure, and run a template end to end.
Deployment
All guidesRun it on infrastructure you already pay for, or let Bruin Cloud handle scheduling, logs, and alerts.
Bruin CloudFully hosted Bruin Cloud, with free credits for games under 10k DAU.GitHub ActionsRepo secrets, scheduled workflows, and push triggers.AWS LambdaA container image for short scheduled or event-driven runs.Ubuntu with cronOne VM, local credentials, cron schedules, and logs.Apache AirflowBashOperator or KubernetesPodOperator inside your DAGs.
Frequently asked
Questions about the program.
Who is eligible for the Bruin mobile games program?
Any game studio with a game under 10,000 daily active users can apply with that game. You also need at least one pipeline already running in Bruin Cloud on the free tier, and a work email on your studio domain with a live website. There is no funding, headcount, company-age, or accelerator requirement - the only real qualification is the DAU threshold on the game you apply with.How is the 10,000 DAU threshold measured?
On the individual game you apply with, as a rolling 28-day average of daily active users across all platforms combined. It is measured per game, not across your whole studio, so a studio with a larger hit can still apply with any title that is under the threshold.Our studio has a game over 10,000 DAU. Can we still apply with a smaller title?
Yes. Eligibility is assessed per game, not per studio. If you have a newer or smaller game under 10,000 DAU, you can apply with that game, and the credits and support engineer are tied to the data work for it. A single large title does not disqualify your other games.Why do I need a pipeline running before I can apply?
The program assigns a Bruin engineer to every game we accept, so we take on a limited number at a time. Asking for one working pipeline first means the credits and the engineering time go to studios who have decided to build on Bruin rather than to teams still evaluating. Getting that first pipeline running is free and we will help you do it: book a planning call and we will build V1 with you in a follow-up session, or follow the public templates yourself. Bruin Cloud has a free tier, so this costs nothing.Does the program cost anything, and do you take equity?
It is free and we take no equity. There is no fee to apply, no credit card is required at any point, and the Bruin Cloud credits are non-dilutive.What data sources can I connect for my game?
The common ones for mobile games are Firebase, your MMP (Adjust, AppsFlyer, or Singular), ad networks and mediation (AppLovin, Unity Ads, ironSource, AdMob), GameAnalytics, RevenueCat for IAP and subscriptions, and store and ad-spend data. Bruin lands all of it in your warehouse - BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, ClickHouse, Databricks, or DuckDB - and models retention, ARPDAU, LTV, and ROAS on top. Your support engineer helps you wire up the sources your game actually uses.What does the named support engineer do?
The named support engineer is a Bruin engineer assigned to your account. They run your onboarding, help you connect Firebase, your MMP, and your warehouse, help your team build its first pipelines, review your setup, and remain reachable in your dedicated Slack channel for the duration of the program. This is an engineering role rather than a sales one.How long does a decision take?
Two business days. You will receive either an acceptance or a decision not to proceed. We answer every application.What does $10,000 in credits cover?
It is intended to cover a year of running production pipelines for a game at this stage, and most workloads at under 10,000 DAU use less than $10,000 in a year. Usage is billed on compute, so what pushes a team over the credit is long-running jobs with large memory footprints, measured in GB-hours. Ordinary telemetry ingestion, retention, and monetization models do not get close. Your support engineer will estimate your usage with you before the program starts.What happens when the 12 months end?
Your pipelines keep running. The Bruin CLI is free and open source, so anything you deployed on your own infrastructure is unaffected. On Bruin Cloud you receive up to 25% off the annual plan for the following 12 months, or your account moves to the free tier. Nothing is charged automatically.What happens if the program is full when I apply?
We place you on a waiting list rather than declining your application, and tell you your position. Because every accepted game is assigned an engineer, we limit how many run concurrently. You can still book a planning call and a build session while you wait, though these are limited in capacity for the same reason. Office hours are announced in the Slack community and are open to everyone.What happens on the planning call?
It runs about 30 minutes and is a planning conversation rather than a working session: nothing is built on it. We go through your game, where its data currently sits, and which sources you use, decide what V1 of your data stack should cover, and pick where to deploy it. Before we finish we book the build session, which is the follow-up meeting where a Bruin engineer builds that V1 with you. Both meetings are free and open to every studio, and there is nothing to purchase afterwards.Do I have to book a call to join the program?
No. If you already have a pipeline running and your game meets the DAU threshold, you can complete the application form directly and we will respond within 2 business days. The call is the faster route for most studios because eligibility can be settled in the conversation, but it is optional.What is the difference between the planning call and the build session?
They are two separate meetings. The planning call is a 30-minute conversation in which we decide what V1 of your data stack should be; nothing is built on it. The build session is the follow-up, a hands-on working session in which a Bruin engineer builds that V1 with you. You book the build session at the end of the planning call. Both are free, and studios already in the program do this work with their support engineer instead.What if our game is over 10,000 DAU, or we do not qualify?
You can still work with a Bruin engineer. Book a planning call and we will build V1 of your data stack with you in a follow-up session, whether or not you ever join the program. Recurring office hours are announced in the Slack community, which is open to everyone. Neither requires an application and there is nothing to purchase. The CLI itself is free and open source, and every template, deployment guide, and tutorial is public. You can apply with another game later if it qualifies.Can I apply if I already use Bruin?
Using Bruin is a requirement rather than an obstacle: you need at least one pipeline running in Bruin Cloud on the free tier before you apply. If you are already a paying Bruin Cloud customer, contact us directly rather than applying here.We are a publisher or agency. Can we apply on behalf of a developer?
No. The program is for studios building their own games. Publishers applying on a developer's behalf, agencies, and resellers are not eligible, and applications submitted on someone else's behalf are not accepted. The developer can apply directly if their game meets the requirements.Do I have to use Bruin Cloud to join the program?
Yes. The program is built around Bruin Cloud credits and requires a pipeline running there before you apply. The free tier is enough to meet that requirement.What if we want to self-host and never use the managed platform?
That is a supported outcome, not a failed one. The CLI is free and open source and every template and deployment guide is public, so you can run everything on your own infrastructure indefinitely at no cost. The planning call, the build session, and office hours are all available to you either way, and we will help you deploy to GitHub Actions, cron, Lambda, or your own cluster. In that case you simply do not need the program: it exists for studios that want the fully managed platform.What is Bruin?
Bruin is an end-to-end data platform covering ingestion from thousands of sources, SQL and Python transformations, data quality checks, orchestration, column-level lineage, and an AI analyst. For a game studio it connects Firebase, your MMP, ad networks, and your warehouse, then models retention, ARPDAU, LTV, and ROAS. The CLI is free, open source, and can be self-hosted. Bruin Cloud adds scheduling, governance, team access controls, and the AI layer.
Rules and fair use
Program terms and fair use.
These apply to every game in the program. Please read them before applying.
Who can join
- One enrollment per game. Credits and discounts do not stack with other Bruin offers.
- The game you apply with must be under 10,000 daily active users, measured as a rolling 28-day average across all platforms. Eligibility is assessed per game, not across your studio.
- At least one pipeline running in Bruin Cloud at the time you apply. The free tier meets this requirement, and we will help you get there before you apply.
- Free-tier Bruin Cloud accounts. If you are already on a paid plan, contact us directly rather than applying.
- An email address on your studio domain. Personal Gmail and Outlook addresses are not accepted.
- A public studio website. We cannot verify a studio that is still in stealth.
- The program is for studios building their own games. Agencies, publishers applying on a developer's behalf, and resellers are not eligible.
- We accept a limited number of games at a time, because each one is assigned an engineer. If the program is full when you apply, we place you on a waiting list rather than declining, and tell you your position.
How credits work
- Credits are valid for 12 months from the date they are activated, and unused credits do not carry over.
- Credits are non-transferable. They belong to the studio that applied and cannot be sold or moved to another account.
- Credits cover Bruin Cloud usage only. They do not cover your data warehouse, your cloud provider, or third-party tools.
- Accounts with no activity for 90 days may be removed from the program. We will email you first and allow 30 days to resume.
- Nothing is charged automatically when credits run out. Your account moves to the free tier until you choose a plan.
Verification and good faith
- We verify daily active users against your analytics or store data, and we may ask you to share a dashboard or export from Firebase, GameAnalytics, or your MMP.
- Misrepresenting your DAU, or the game you are applying with, ends participation and forfeits remaining credits.
- Creating multiple entities or accounts to claim the program more than once ends participation.
- We may decline an application without giving a detailed reason, though we will always tell you it was declined.
- We can change or end the program for new applicants at any time. Anyone already accepted keeps their full term.
What it costs you
- Nothing. There is no fee, and we take no equity.
- No credit card is required to apply or to be accepted.
- Applying does not add you to a marketing list. We email you about your application and send occasional technical resources, and nothing else.
- Your pipelines remain yours. The Bruin CLI is free and open source, so you can continue running them on your own infrastructure after the program ends.
How we compare
The only one that puts an engineer on it.
No other data platform we checked runs a program for mobile games. The closest are their startup credits: Fivetran and Airbyte give more credit than we do, both take Y Combinator companies only, and neither will sit down and build with you.
Bruin
- Who can apply
- Any game under 10,000 DAU, measured per game
- Credits
- $10,000 for 12 months
- Engineer helps you build
- Yes. A named engineer, with your team
Fivetran
- Who can apply
- Y Combinator batches only
- Credits
- $50,000 for 12 months
- Engineer helps you build
- No. Docs and group workshops
Airbyte
- Who can apply
- Y Combinator only, under $5M raised
- Credits
- $75,000 in Cloud credits
- Engineer helps you build
- No. Academy courses and workshops
dbt Labs
- Who can apply
- Google for Startups Scale members only
- Credits
- 45-day Enterprise trial
- Engineer helps you build
- No. None
Prefect
- Who can apply
- Up to $20M raised
- Credits
- Team plan discount, amount not published
- Engineer helps you build
- No. None
dlt, Dagster, SQLMesh
No public startup program
As published by each vendor and checked in August 2026: Fivetran, Airbyte, dbt Labs via Google Cloud, Prefect. These change often, so check the source before relying on it. For the products rather than their programs, see our dbt, Fivetran, and Airbyte guides.