Release Notes
New updates and improvements
INTELLIGENCE v1.0
Out of BETA. Eight Specialties. Endless Possibilities.
CRAFTSMAN INTELLIGENCE is now generally available across CRAFTSMAN+. It is the AI chatbot built into the platform: describe what you need in plain language and it plans, builds, edits, generates, reviews, and analyzes on your behalf. Beta is over. This release covers everything INTELLIGENCE can do today.
One Chat, Eight Specialties Plain language in. The right expertise out.
INTELLIGENCE covers eight areas of the playable workflow. Four advise: Creative Strategy, Concept Ideation, Design Recommendations, and Analytics Insights. Four act on your project: Creative Generation, Builder Agent, Feature Generation, and Asset Generation. There is nothing to select. Describe what you want in plain language, whether that is a headline resized, a design reviewed, or a new mechanic drafted, and INTELLIGENCE handles it as one system.
Creative Generation A whole playable from a brief, a video, a Photoshop file, or a template
Start from what you already have. A prompt, an App Store URL, a video or static ad, a Photoshop file, or a template becomes a working playable. INTELLIGENCE builds it from scratch using your assets or generating new ones, matching your branding and gameplay. Drop in a video ad and it comes back as a playable with the same visual style and mechanics.
Every generated playable becomes a fully editable project in PLAY. Fine-tune it by hand, or keep refining with the chatbot until it's exactly right.
Builder Agent and Feature Generation Edit anything. Build Everything
Inside the PLAY Editor, the Builder Agent edits your project through conversation: text and copy across every scene, layout, alignment and responsivity, timeline and animations, interactions and hotspots, scenes, global layers, dynamic content, game mechanics and components, settings, and asset cropping and optimization. It can also find and fix project score violations. Give it one precise command, several at once, or a goal, and it explains what it changed.
Feature Generation covers what the built-in layers cannot. Describe a mini-game, a particle effect, a prize wheel, or a before-and-after slider and INTELLIGENCE builds it as a Code Layer in your project. It behaves like any other layer: colors, speeds, and toggles sit in the Properties panel as editable properties, so everything stays adjustable after it's generated.
Asset Generation Images, SVG shapes, music, sound effects, and voiceover, all in the chat
Ask for a background, a mascot, a product shot, or a set of icons and the image appears in the conversation. Ask for a custom SVG, a logo shape or a UI element, and you get clean vector you can scale and recolor in the editor. Ask for upbeat background music, a button click, or a "You Win" voice line and a clip appears with an inline player. Give it reference images, a URL, or a brand guidelines PDF and the results follow your look.
Nothing is saved or placed unless you choose. Every generated asset offers Add Layer and Save to Asset Library, so you can generate freely and keep only what works. Other specialties call on Asset Generation as they go: a reskin that needs missing artwork generates it in place.
Strategy, Concepts, and Review Know what to build.
Creative Strategy tells you what to build before you build it: trending concepts, hooks, mechanics, competitor activity, and what performs on which network, by vertical and by KPI.
Concept Ideation turns a direction into a storyboard: a summary, a scene-by-scene breakdown from hook to end card, and the list of PLAY features you will need. Take it straight into the Builder Agent.
Design Recommendations reviews your open project like a senior designer: hierarchy, typography, contrast, imagery, CTA placement, and playable best practices. Upload your brand guidelines and it checks against them. It tells you what to change; the Builder Agent makes the change.
Analytics Insights Ask your data what to build next
Analytics Insights turns your performance data into a conversation. Ask where users drop off and it names the scene. Ask why one variant beat another and it explains the difference. Ask which partner is driving captures, whether iOS and Android behave differently, or what your top performers have in common, and the answer comes back from your real numbers, not a dashboard you have to interpret yourself.
This is pre-click data at work. Every interaction inside the ad is a signal: which layers get touched, how long people stay, where the end card loses them. INTELLIGENCE reads those signals and tells you what to build next, so the loop closes inside the same tool that made the creative. Diagnose, revise, export, and ask again.
Bring Your Context Files, links, your selection, and your company's rules
Attach images, PDFs, audio, video, and fonts by upload, from the Asset Library, by drag and drop, or by paste, up to 20 files per message. Paste a website or App Store link and INTELLIGENCE reads it. Select layers on the canvas and refer to them as "these layers". Any image or clip already in the conversation can be selected and reused without re-uploading.
Company admins can set Company Instructions and Company Skills in Company Settings. Instructions are standing context, such as brand rules and naming conventions, applied to every conversation across your company. Skills are reusable instructions for tasks you run repeatedly. Write them once; every user gets them.
Everywhere You Work Four views, saved history, navigation, and web search
INTELLIGENCE is available on every page of CRAFTSMAN+, with or without a project open. Choose Popup View, Panel View, Fullscreen View, or Window View from the Change View menu; your conversation carries across every switch, and Window View puts the chat in its own browser window for a second monitor. Press ⌘ Shift O or Ctrl + Shift + O anywhere to start a new chat.
Every conversation is saved. History groups chats into Favorites, your current project, and everything else, with search, rename, favorite, and delete. Ask INTELLIGENCE to take you anywhere in the platform, from a project's analytics to the Asset Library, and it navigates for you. When a question needs current information, it searches the web and works the results into its answer.
PLAY v5.3
CUSTOM SHAPES. POWERED-UP CODE LAYERS. MORE PLAY.
New Features
Custom Shapes Bring any shape into PLAY
Shape layers are no longer limited to rectangles and circles. You can now upload SVGs to the Asset Library as a new Shape asset type, and any SVG can be used as its own fully editable shape layer. When a shape is anything beyond the presets, the Shape dropdown displays "Custom," and you can switch back to a preset at any time.
Custom shapes support the same customization you already know. Edit the fill color and opacity right in the Properties panel, and shapes with multiple colors get a color selector for each fill, plus a new picker for stroke color. The Replace button now shows both images and SVGs from your Asset Library, so you can swap an image for a shape (or a shape for an image) whenever you like.
A few more details: the Asset Library gains a Shape filter under Asset Types, custom shapes work with Global Layers, and they appear in the assets panel like any other shape. If an uploaded SVG isn't compatible with customization, you'll see a compatibility notice in the Properties panel, but the shape still renders and exports correctly.
Code Layer Upgrades Sound, physics, progression, and more
The Code Layer picked up a major set of upgrades this release:
Sound effects. Code layers now have first-class audio support. When a code layer includes sound effects, a new Audio Module appears in its Properties panel. Open Audio Properties to swap, preview, or delete each sound and adjust its volume. Code layer audio also appears in the audio section of the assets panel, right alongside the rest of your project's sounds.
2D physics engine. Code layers now include a built-in 2D physics engine (matter.js), so falling objects, bouncing, stacking, and slingshot-style mechanics no longer require hand-written collision math. The physics API comes with full code editor support: autocompletion, a dedicated section in the API reference sidebar, and hover documentation. Physics is fully opt-in, so creatives that don't use it see no change in file size.
Progression. Code layers now use the same Variables and Triggers progression system introduced in v5.2. A new Progression section sits directly below the Code section in the Properties panel, where you can create variables, track them, and fire actions when they hit the conditions you set, exactly like game progression.
Interactions at a glance. Interactions configured inside a code layer are now visible outside the code editor. Any layer with a configured interaction shows a read-only Interaction section in its Properties panel with the gesture and action, so collaborators can see what's wired up without opening the code.
Automatic engagement tracking. Interactive code layers now feed the Analytics Dashboard automatically. Any layer with a configured interaction fires engagement events out of the box, so your code layer interactions show up in Total Engagements and Engagements by Layer with no extra setup.
Effects Non-destructive visual effects, right in the editor
Raising the visual fidelity of an asset used to mean baking the effect into your source art in Photoshop or After Effects and re-importing it for every tweak. Not anymore. A new Effects Section now sits in the layer Properties panel, just below Animations, and works exactly like the Interactions and Animations modules you already know: add an effect, pick its type, configure it inline, and remove it whenever you like. A single layer can hold multiple effects at once and everything renders in the exported playable exactly as it looks in the editor.
Opacity is the first effect to ship on the new system. Add it to a layer and set a value from 0 to 100%. More effect types are coming soon!
Analytics Monitor Watch your events fire in real time
You no longer need the browser's network panel to verify what a playable is tracking. A new Analytics Monitor button sits at the top right of both Preview Path view and Share Link view. Click it to open a panel showing running totals for Sessions, Total Engagements, and Total Captures, plus a live feed of every event as it fires, with friendly names like Engagement, Capture, Tracker Fired, Scene Started, and Finished. Event rows include helpful context such as the layer or scene that triggered them, and a reset button in the panel header clears everything for a fresh run.
Analytics Spreadsheet View & CSV Download Day-by-day performance, ready for export
A new Spreadsheet view in the analytics sidebar presents your creative's performance as a day-by-day table. Each day is its own row showing Total Sessions, Sessions Engaged, Total Engagements, and Sessions Captured, plus a column for every layer in the creative so you can compare how individual elements performed over time. The table supports sorting by any column, pagination, and a sticky header and date column, and it respects the date range and filters you've already selected. When you're ready to dig deeper, hit Download CSV to export the data for Excel or Google Sheets, clearly named with the project, variant, date range, and company.
Redesigned Share Link Popup Share settings
The Share Link popup has been rebuilt. Click the Share Link button in the toolbar (⌥⌘Q) to open the new draggable popup with your QR code up top and one-click Open URL and Copy URL actions, complete with a "Link copied" confirmation toast. Two share settings are now built right in: Default Size lets you choose which size the share link opens with, and Lock Size hides the size dropdown on the share link page entirely. Both previously existed only as hidden URL parameters you had to append by hand; now the popup builds the share URL for you. The same popup also comes to template preview sharing with QR code, Copy URL, and Open URL.
Export Updates Cleaner names, organized packages, all variants at once
The export package is the final handoff to partners and clients, and it just got a lot more organized.
A standardized naming convention. Every exported file now follows a consistent format: ExportPartner_ProjectName_VariantName_Date_CompanyName. For example: InMobi_Yahtzee_C03_ItemCatcherCardGame_V01_PlayNow_2025-06-01_Wildcards. The convention applies to every file type a partner receives, so recipients can identify any file at a glance without opening it.
A new package structure. Exports now download as a single top-level zip (Playables_Date.zip or Banners_Date.zip for banner exports) containing one folder per export partner, with each partner's files inside in their required format. Every package also includes an instructions file linking to documentation, so whoever receives the export knows exactly what they're looking at.
Include All Variants. No more exporting variants one at a time. A new Include All Variants toggle at the bottom of the Export modal exports every variant of your project for each selected partner in a single go. The Export button count updates live so you always know exactly how many files you're about to generate: 3 partners with 3 variants gives you EXPORT (9).
Timeline Enhancements Precise timing, readable at a glance
The timeline is where all your scene and layer timing lives, and it's been rebuilt to make that timing easier to read and far more precise to control.
A refreshed design. The timeline bar, panel, and tracks have been brought in line with PLAY's current design. Every control now has a tooltip, playback controls stay available even while the timeline is collapsed, and all time values display as clean whole numbers, no more stray decimals. You can also zoom the timeline by holding CMD (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) and scrolling, or by pinching on a trackpad.
A smarter scene track. The scene track now matches the structure of your layer tracks, with timestamps and notch marks overlaid directly on it. Drag the end of the scene track to change your scene's duration right on the timeline, no trip to the properties panel required.
Animation timing on every track. Layer tracks now visualize animation timing: layers with idle animations show playback notches, and enter and exit animation durations render directly on the track, so you can read your scene's choreography at a glance.
Precision dragging and snapping. Dragging a track or adjusting its start or end time now moves in 0.05 second increments, roughly one frame at 30fps, with the start time, end time, and total duration displayed live as you drag. Layer tracks snap to each other and to the scene end, and holding CMD or CTRL disables snapping when you want full freedom. Adjusting a parent's timing updates its children live as you drag.
Layers beyond the scene end. Layer tracks can now be dragged past the end of the scene, with the out-of-bounds portion darkened so it's clear that content won't play. Playback still ends at the scene duration.
On Finish control. Every layer gets a dedicated On Finish dropdown, giving you control over exactly what happens when a layer reaches the end of the timeline.
PLAY v5.2
NEW LAYERS. UPDATED PROGRESSION. MORE PLAY.
New Features
Shape Layers Build with native shapes
You can now add circle and rectangle shapes directly to your creatives as their own layer type. Add a shape from the Add Layer menu or with the S hotkey, then choose your shape from the dropdown and customize its color, opacity, and corner roundness right in the Properties panel. Also, importing a PSD now brings shapes in as native shape layers rather than flattened images. You can also swap any shape out for an image (or an image for a shape) at any time.
Code Layer Write your own code, right in PLAY
Custom code is now in PLAY! Add a code layer from the Add Layer menu or with the hotkey O, then open the built-in code editor to write your own interactive visuals directly in PLAY. The editor includes autocompletion and an API reference sidebar to help you as you build, and you can pull image, text, and shape layers into your code through the layer's own asset panel. This opens up complex, custom interactivity that wasn't possible to build by hand before.
And this is just the beginning. The code layer works hand in hand with our AI chatbot to unlock a whole new level of creative power in PLAY, with much more on the way soon!
Progression Upgrades A flexible new progression system
Progression has been rebuilt from the ground up. The old three-tab Score, Moves, and Health setup is replaced by a flexible two-tab structure: a Variables tab and a Triggers tab. In the Variables tab you can create any number of custom variables, name them, and set their default values. In the Triggers tab you set up actions that fire based on those variables. Each trigger watches a variable for a condition you choose, whether it reaches a value, drops to a value, equals a value exactly, or hits a value at a set interval, and then fires any action when that condition is met. You could reward a player the moment Score reaches 100, or fire an action every 25 points!
The Update Progression action is more powerful too. Instead of a simple increment, you can now choose how a value changes (Increase by, Reduce by, Multiply by, Divide by, or Set to) and apply that operation to one variable or several at once in a single action. Progress Text and Progress Bar also gain Min and Max input fields.
The same system now extends to games with a redesigned Game Progression section built on the same Variables and Triggers structure, so game-level progression works just like the rest of your project. Every game mechanic comes with its own set of default variables out of the box, like a starting score and points per action, so scoring behaves sensibly the moment you drop a game in. You can adjust those default values to tune each game's scoring exactly how you want and build triggers on top of them.
Your existing projects are migrated automatically, with Score, Moves, and Health carried over as variables so nothing breaks.
A Brand New Look Refreshed visuals across the platform
CRAFTSMAN+ has a new look. The platform's primary color has shifted from purple to orange across the entire editor, from buttons and toggles to selected layers, tabs, on-canvas selection indicators, and analytics charts. Everything you already know is exactly where you left it, just dressed in the new brand.
Direct Upload to AppLovin Publish without leaving PLAY
You can now send a playable straight to AppLovin Axon from the Export modal. When you select AppLovin under the Export options, you'll see a choice between Download and Direct Upload. To use Direct Upload, add your AppLovin credentials once in the new Company Settings section, which you reach by clicking your profile and choosing Company Settings, then opening Partner Integrations. Once configured, your playable uploads directly to Axon as part of the export, no manual download and re-upload required.
Video Upgrades More control over video layers
Video layers picked up a large set of upgrades this release:
A new autoplay toggle controls whether a video plays on its own.
Playback options now include Stop and Loop.
A new Playback action module lets you fire an action when a video finishes playing. How often it fires follows the playback type: once when set to stop or on every loop.
Timeline notches show exactly when a video will stop, loop, or rewind, and the video track now stays unlocked so you can freely adjust its duration.
An aspect ratio lock keeps videos in proportion when you resize them.
You can now add video layers inside Carousel and Scrollable components.
You can add more than one video to a single scene.
You can now add videos to global layers
When a video is the only one in a project, the scene duration now matches the video length automatically.
Sequence Upgrades More control over sequence layers
Sequence layers got a matching set of upgrades:
A new autoplay toggle controls whether a sequence starts on its own.
A new Playback action module lets you fire an action when a sequence finishes playing. How often it fires follows the playback type: once when set to stop, on every loop, or on every rewind cycle.
Timeline notches show when a sequence will stop, loop, or rewind, and the sequence track now stays unlocked for free timeline adjustment.
Changing a sequence's FPS no longer stretches or shortens its track.
PLAY v5.1
DESIGN FASTER. UPLOAD SMARTER. MORE PLAY.
New Features
Photoshop Import Bring your PSDs straight into PLAY.
Photoshop Import lets you bring a full PSD into your project in a single action, with every artboard becoming a scene and every layer landing in the editor ready to use. Open the Create Asset menu in the PLAY editor and select the new Import option to launch the Photoshop Import page.
Here's how it works:
Upload your PSD. Click Upload PSD and choose a file. PLAY automatically parses your artboards and layers.
Review the import. Once parsing is successful, you'll see thumbnails of every artboard alongside the full layer panel. Each layer gets a status icon: green for layers that imported cleanly, yellow for layers that imported but lost something along the way (an unsupported effect or missing font), and red for layers that couldn't be imported. Hover any icon to see exactly what happened.
Include or exclude artboards. Click any artboard thumbnail to exclude it from the import.
Finish the import. Click Import to bring everything into your project. The new scenes appear below your existing ones in the editor, ready to edit.
A Redesigned Asset Upload Flow Faster uploads with full visibility every step of the way
The Asset Library now has a fully redesigned upload experience built directly into the library itself, replacing the old upload window!
Here's what's changed:
Drag to upload. Drag files from your desktop onto the asset grid in the Asset Library or onto the editor directly.
Pending upload review. Before anything uploads, you'll see every file listed. Unsupported or corrupted files are flagged with a red warning and a tooltip explaining the issue. Remove anything you don't want, then hit Upload — any unsupported files are filtered out automatically.
Real-time upload progress. The right panel shows per-file progress as uploads run. Files upload in parallel and you can keep working in the editor while uploads complete in the background.
Upload complete and failed states. When the upload finishes, you'll see a clear summary showing how many files succeeded versus failed. Successful uploads appear pre-selected in the asset grid ready to use!
Keep Width & Keep Height Scaling Two new options for responsive layer behavior
Two new scaling modes have been added to the layer scaling menu. Keep Width locks a layer's width regardless of viewport size, with height adjusting proportionally to preserve aspect ratio. Keep Height does the reverse, locking height and adjusting width. These give you more precise control over how layers respond across screen sizes alongside the existing scaling modes.
Fire Tracker Action Silently fire a tracker URL without interrupting the experience
Fire Tracker is a new action that silently fires a tracker URL in the background, with no new window opening and no interruption to the playable. You'll find Fire Tracker in any action dropdown — including Interactions, Video and Sequence On Finish, Game Finish Conditions, and Scene Events. Select it from the dropdown, enter your tracker URL, and the action will fire whenever it's triggered. Fire Tracker is also fully compatible with catalogue URLs.
Exclude Scenes from BG Music and Global Timer Granular control over which scenes opt out
The "Play on End Cards" toggle has been replaced with a new Exclude Scenes dropdown in both the BG Music and Global Timer property popups, giving you scene-by-scene control instead of an all-or-nothing setting tied to End Cards. Open the dropdown to see every scene in your project with a checkbox, check any you want to exclude, and the BG Music or Global Timer will skip those scenes during export.
Independent Text Properties Per Orientation Fine-tune text alignment and font size for each orientation independently
Text alignment and font size can now be set independently for portrait and landscape on the same text layer. Adjust either property in one orientation and it stays put when you switch to the other, so you can fine-tune your text for each layout without overriding what you already set up.
Paste Properties Copy specific properties from one layer to another
Paste Properties lets you copy a layer and apply just the properties you want to another layer, instead of pasting the whole thing. Copy a layer, select your target, and open the edit controls dropdown to find a new Paste Properties option with a sub-menu of property groups: All Properties, Transform, Timeline, Interactions, Animation, and Dynamic. If a target layer doesn't support a specific group, that option is disabled and a "Cannot Paste Properties" toast appears. Pasted properties overwrite the target layer's existing settings.
PLAY v5
A MORE MODERN EDITOR. MORE INTERACTION. MORE PLAY.
New Features
Modernized Editor A faster, smoother, and more intuitive creative workspace
PLAY's editor has been completely modernized under the hood. Powered by WebGL, the viewport is now significantly faster and smoother across the board. While your workflow stays the same, you'll immediately notice the difference.
Here's what's changed:
Unified viewport. Portrait and landscape artboards now live side by side in a single viewport — no more switching between two separate views.
Redesigned transform controls. The bounding box and transform handles have been updated with a cleaner, more modern look. Side handles have been removed in favor of transforming layers directly from the edges. The dedicated rotation node is gone — you can now rotate any layer by hovering just outside a corner, similar to tools like Figma.
Updated cursors. All viewport cursors have been refreshed to match the new transform behaviors, giving you clearer visual feedback as you move, resize, and rotate layers.
Smoother controls across the board. Layer movement, resizing, and snapping all feel noticeably smoother thanks to the new rendering engine. Trackpad controls have also been improved — two-finger drag to pan, pinch to zoom, and all the expected gestures work as you'd expect.
Improved zoom. Zoom now has proper limits (1% to 2000%) and artboard size labels are displayed directly on the viewport for quick reference.
Upgraded Component Rendering. iFrame and Carousel components now render directly in the editor instead of appearing as grey placeholder boxes, so you can see your actual content while you build.
Press Effect Add visual feedback to any interactive layer
Press Effect is a new interaction property that lets you control how a layer looks the moment a user taps or clicks it. Add a scale change, a color overlay, or both to give your interactive elements that polished, app-like feel. You'll find the Press Effect button in the Interactions section of any layer's Properties panel. Customize the scale (0–1000%), apply a color overlay with adjustable opacity, and use the Reset to Default button to quickly revert changes. Press Effect works on standard layers and component layers alike.
Hold and Release Gesture One gesture, two actions
Hold and Release is a new gesture type that lets you trigger separate actions when a user presses down on a layer and when they let go. Set up a Hold Action and a Release Action independently — for example, play a video while the user holds and pause it when they release. You'll find Hold and Release in the Gesture dropdown within the Interactions section. We recommend adding instructional text like "Hold to Play" so users know the interaction is available.
Anchor Points Fine-tune how layers respond across screen sizes
Anchor Points set the reference point a layer uses for transform properties, pinning, and scaling across different devices. Found in the Responsive section of each layer, the dropdown offers nine positions (Top Left through Bottom Right) with Center as the default. Updating a pin will auto-update the Anchor Point to match, but changing the Anchor Point won't affect the pin, so existing workflows stay the same. Note: Animations are not affected by Anchor Point and will continue to use center origin.
Engine Compression Dramatically reduce your exported file size
You can now compress your playable's engine at export time, saving approximately 400KB on most projects. In the Export modal, open Export Settings and toggle on Engine Compression. When enabled, any partner that exports as .html will include a compressed version of the rendering engine, resulting in significantly smaller file sizes without any changes to how your playable looks or performs. The toggle is off by default, giving you full control over when to use it.
Note: Engine Compression is not supported on iOS 16.3 and earlier. If your campaign targets older iOS devices, we recommend leaving this toggle off.
iFrame HTML & ZIP Upload Skip the hosting — upload HTML creatives directly
The iFrame component now supports direct file uploads. In addition to URL and Embed Snippet, you can now choose HTML or ZIP from the Format dropdown to upload self-contained HTML5 creatives straight from your computer — no external hosting required.
Select HTML to upload a single .html file, or ZIP for multi-file projects with assets like CSS, JavaScript, and images (must include a root index.html). PLAY handles the upload, hosts the file on CDN, and loads it into the iFrame automatically.
This is especially useful for embedding third-party HTML5 creatives, mini-games, or rich media units that were previously a hassle to host separately before pasting a URL.
Bulk Adding Layers Import multiple images at once
You can now select and add multiple image assets as new layers in a single action. When adding a new Image layer, the Asset Library now supports multi-select — choose your images, and each one is automatically created as its own layer in the order you selected them. This saves significant time when building out scenes with many visual elements. This currently works for image layers only, videos will be coming soon.
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