Get Soft Launch Apps With a New International App Store Account
Lots of folks ask how they can download games and apps that are soft launching in other countries. A soft launch is when a developer releases their game or app in one or more countries to test it out before its fully released. Getting soft launch apps isn’t difficult, per se, but it’s not exactly easy. There’s a process you have to follow, and Apple could throw a monkey wrench into that process at any time. I’ve seen it happen. So, here’s a method that works today, June 28, 2017. Hopefully it will continue to work so you can get soft launch apps with an international iTunes account.
Get a Burner Email Address
The first thing you want to do is get a burner email, an address that’s unique and and you can verify ownership of. Gmail is probably the easiest email service to use, but there are certainly others.
You used to be able to use an alias of your existing Gmail account (like clefmeister+swe@email.com). Apple’s caught on to that trick, however, and strips off the plus sign and everything following it. If your regular Gmail address is confirmed with Apple already, this could be a problem.
So, long story short, sign up for an email address unique to the iTunes account you’re going to set up next.
Change Your App Store Country
First things first, though. Go to your desktop, and launch iTunes. Then click Account > Sign Out. Next, scroll to the bottom of the store window and click Change Country. Select the country you want an iTunes account in, and change to that one.
With that out of the way, go try to download a free app. You’ll be prompted to sign into your iTunes account, but we’re not ready to do that yet. Instead, go ahead and click on Create Account.
Creating a New iTunes Account
Enter your new email address, your password, and fill out the security questions. Then, enter your date of birth.
Now comes the fun part — actually tricking Apple into thinking you live in the country you’re signing up for. To do this, I used the Fake Name Generator, which creates credible names, addresses, and phone numbers for a handful of countries. If your country of choice isn’t listed, you’ll have to find another way. This is where Apple Maps can come in very handy.
Enter in your name, or your fake name, along with the billing information. Leave payment method set to none. When you’ve filled in the required fields, click the Submit button and away goes your application for a new iTunes account. Within a few seconds, you should receive a verification email in your burner account. Click the link to confirm the email and you’re off and running.
Final Notes on How to Get Soft Launch Apps
Soft launches happen in a few countries, so you might want to repeat this process for the various nations that have the prereleases. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are the biggest ones. We also see more than a few soft launches in Singapore, the Philippines, and even Saudi Arabia.
Bear in mind, you won’t be able to purchase paid apps on this account. For that, you would need a gift, credit, or debit card from that country. You also won’t be able to do any in-app purchases, because those are tied to the account that “purchased” the app. You’ll just have to settle for the free apps.
