Lurkit vs FirstLook: Which Creator Campaign Platform Should Your Studio Choose?

Your creator campaigns generate views, but you can't tell which creators actually drive players who stick around. That's the gap most studios face when evaluating influencer platforms.

Lurkit has long been the go-to platform for game studios running creator campaigns. But FirstLook now matches Lurkit's core creator marketing capabilities and extends far beyond them with playtesting, community management, and unified player-creator insights that Lurkit simply doesn't offer.

Here's a detailed breakdown of how these platforms stack up for studios serious about creator marketing.

What Is Lurkit?

Lurkit is an influencer marketing platform connecting studios with content creators across Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. Studios use it to run sponsored campaigns, distribute keys, and track creator performance through reporting dashboards.

The platform's strength is its established creator network and mature campaign workflows. However, Lurkit focuses exclusively on creator marketing. It doesn't help with playtesting, community management, or connecting creator performance to actual player behavior.

What Is FirstLook?

FirstLook is a player relationship platform that now includes full creator campaign management alongside its playtesting and community tools. Studios use FirstLook to run creator campaigns with goals, milestones, and payouts while also managing playtest onboarding, collecting in-game feedback, and tracking community sentiment.

The competitive advantage is unified data. FirstLook connects creator campaigns to player behavior, showing you which creators drive playtesters who actually stick around and engage, not just creators who generate views that never convert.

Lurkit vs FirstLook: Creator Campaign Features Compared

Both platforms now compete head-to-head on creator campaign management. Here's how they compare:

The table above provides a quick overview of the platforms' current standings. Here's a closer look at how each feature works in practice.

Lurkit vs FirstLook Creator Campaign Management Feature Breakdown

1. Campaign Management

Both platforms let you create and manage campaigns from a studio dashboard. You can set objectives, define rewards, and track participation.

FirstLook adds campaign-level analytics that show total content generated, code redemption rates, and traffic driven through creator landing pages. You see not just who participated, but who actually moved the needle.

2. Content Detection and Performance Tracking

Lurkit tracks content across Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok with engagement metrics.

FirstLook matches this coverage (including YouTube Shorts and Twitch clips) and adds native livestream analytics that replace third-party tools like Streams Charts. Track watch time, average and peak viewers, stream duration, and audience growth trends, all without leaving the platform.

3. Creator Payouts and Rewards

Both platforms handle creator payments. FirstLook's integration with Oncade provides studio wallets for funding campaigns and creator wallets for receiving and withdrawing funds, with reward redemption tied to measurable goal completion.

4. Attribution and ROI Measurement

This is where the platforms diverge significantly.

Lurkit tracks creator performance in isolation, including views, engagement, and content created.

FirstLook connects creator performance to player outcomes. Each creator gets a unique landing page, and every signup through that page is attributed back to them. You see exactly which creators drive playtest signups, wishlist conversions, and, critically, which creator-driven players actually engage with your game long-term.

This unified view answers the question Lurkit can't: "Which creators are worth investing in again?"

FirstLook Features Lurkit Doesn't Offer

Creator campaigns don't exist in isolation. The creators you work with drive players to your game, and those players need onboarding, feedback channels, and community spaces. 

If you're using Lurkit for creator marketing, you'll need separate tools for everything that happens after creators bring players in. FirstLook handles the full journey in one platform:

These features help you manage the players that creators bring in. But there's another challenge worth addressing: keeping creators themselves engaged beyond a single campaign.

How FirstLook Solves Creator Retention Problems

Studios using Lurkit consistently run into the same issue: creators grab keys, maybe make content, then disappear. There's no ongoing relationship, no way to build loyalty, and no connection between creator activity and actual player outcomes.

As a partner studio explained when exploring alternatives:

"A lot of content creators apply mainly for the rewards. The problem with Lurkit is that we barely had any way to create a connection with creators. They would come, request a key, and… maybe make content, maybe not."

FirstLook addresses this directly with repeatable milestones and goals. Instead of one-and-done rewards, creators earn ongoing recognition for continued engagement. Stream for 5 hours? Get keys to give away. Drive 100 wishlists? Unlock a cosmetic. The system keeps creators invested because there's always another milestone to hit.

Combined with personal creator landing pages that track quest completion, wishlist conversions, and signup attribution, FirstLook turns transactional key drops into lasting creator relationships.

Lurkit vs FirstLook Pricing and Plans

Pricing models differ significantly between these platforms. FirstLook publishes transparent tiers while Lurkit requires sales conversations for quotes.

FirstLook offers transparent, tiered pricing:

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  Free Plan - Unlimited signups, 50 invited players, all Standard features
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  Standard Plan - $299/month, up to 5,000 invited players
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  Pro Plan - $1,599/month, up to 50,000 invited players
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  Enterprise - Custom pricing for large player counts and bespoke needs

Lurkit requires contacting sales for custom quotes.

Both platforms scale from indie to AAA. The key difference: FirstLook's pricing includes creator campaigns, playtesting, community management, and unified analytics. With Lurkit, you pay for creator marketing, but still need separate tools for everything else.

Pros and Cons of Lurkit and FirstLook

Each platform has clear strengths and limitations depending on what your studio needs. Here's a summary to help you weigh the trade-offs.

Lurkit

Pros

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  Established creator network you can tap immediately
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  Mature campaign workflows have been refined over the years
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  Purpose-built for influencer marketing

Cons

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  No playtesting or community management tools
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  One-and-done reward structure doesn't build lasting creator relationships
• •
  Can't connect creator performance to player behavior
• •
  Keys are distributed to creators only, requiring separate tools for player distribution
• •
  Requires additional platforms for a complete workflow

FirstLook

Pros

• •
  Full creator campaign system with repeatable milestones that keep creators engaged
• •
  Playtesting, community management, and creator campaigns in one platform
• •
  Unified data shows which creators drive engaged players, not just views
• •
  Attribution tracking connects signups and conversions to specific creators
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  Key distribution to both creators AND players across Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Epic
• •
  30-40% in-game survey response rates and 10-25% referral signup increases
• •
  Transparent pricing includes everything

Cons

• •
  Newer to creator campaigns than Lurkit
• •
  Creator network is growing, but smaller than Lurkit's established base

Lurkit vs FirstLook: Final Verdict

Although Lurkit and FirstLook overlap in key distribution and creator access, they're designed for different primary purposes: marketing reach versus development feedback. That's why many studios evaluate them together.

The right choice depends on your studio's scope. If creator marketing is your only need, Lurkit works. If you want creator campaigns integrated with playtesting and community management, FirstLook delivers more value.

Choose FirstLook if:

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  You want creator campaigns, playtesting, and community tools in one platform
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  You care about which creators drive engaged players, not just content volume
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  You're frustrated by creators who grab keys and disappear
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  You're already using (or planning to use) FirstLook for playtesting

Choose Lurkit if:

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  You only need creator marketing and nothing else
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  You want immediate access to an established creator network
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  You're comfortable adding separate tools for playtesting and community management

Get Started with Creator Campaigns

Both platforms handle creator campaigns, but the difference is what comes with them. Lurkit focuses solely on influencer marketing. FirstLook gives you creator campaigns plus playtesting, community management, and unified player-creator insights, showing you which creators actually drive engaged players.

Why pay for multiple tools when one platform does it all? 

Start your free trial with FirstLook today. Get 50 invited players with full access to creator campaigns, playtesting, and community tools. No credit card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can FirstLook replace influencer marketing tools?

Yes. FirstLook includes full creator campaign management with goals, milestones, content detection, payouts, and attribution tracking. Studios can run complete influencer programs without needing a separate tool like Lurkit.

Can Lurkit manage large-scale playtests?

No. Lurkit focuses exclusively on creator marketing. It doesn't offer playtesting workflows, player onboarding, NDA management, or feedback collection. Studios using Lurkit need separate tools for playtesting.

Do studios typically need both platforms?

Not if you choose FirstLook. FirstLook combines creator campaigns with playtesting and community management in one platform. Studios using Lurkit often need additional tools for player onboarding, surveys, and community management.