How to Publish a Unity Game to Google Play Store

1 Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Google Play Console account ($25 one-time fee)
• Unity with Android Build Support including:
  • Android SDK & NDK Tools
  • OpenJDK
• Android SDK API Level 29+ (required for Play Store uploads)

2 Configure Unity Player Settings

Go to File → Build Settings, select Android, then click Player Settings.

Basic Settings

• Company Name: Your company or developer name
• Product Name: Your game's name
• Version: Start with 0.1 or 1.0
• Default Icon: Your app icon (512x512 recommended)

Other Settings

• Package Name: Unique identifier (e.g., com.yourcompany.gamename)
• Version: Display version (e.g., 1.0)
• Bundle Version Code: Integer that must increment with each upload (1, 2, 3...)
• Target API Level: Set to API Level 29 or higher

Configuration Settings

1. Change Scripting Backend from Mono to IL2CPP
2. Under Target Architectures, check ARM64

3 Create a Signing Key

Google Play requires all apps to be signed with a cryptographic key.

1. Go to Publishing Settings in Player Settings
2. Click Keystore Manager
3. Select Create New → Anywhere
4. Choose a location and set a password
5. Create a new key with:
   • Alias name (e.g., your game name)
   • Password
   • Optional: Organization info
6. Click Add Key
7. Set it as the Project Keystore

4 Build Your App Bundle

1. If using Visual Scripting/Bolt, run Tools → Bolt → AOT Pre-Build
2. In Build Settings, check Build App Bundle (Google Play)
3. Click Build
4. Choose a save location and name your file
5. Wait for the build to complete (creates a .aab file)

5 Set Up Google Play Console

While your app builds, set up your store listing in Google Play Console.

Create Your App

1. Go to Google Play Console
2. Click Create Application
3. Enter your app name
4. Click Create

Store Listing Requirements

6 Upload Your App Bundle

1. Go to Release → Production (or Testing for beta)
2. Click Create New Release
3. Choose to let Google manage your signing key (recommended)
4. Click Continue
5. Drag and drop your .aab file
6. Wait for processing and validation
7. Add release notes under "What's new"
8. Click Save

7 Complete Required Sections

Before publishing, complete these additional requirements:

Content Rating

1. Go to Content Rating
2. Complete the questionnaire about your game's content
3. Click Calculate Rating
4. Click Apply Rating

App Content

• Privacy Policy: URL to your privacy policy
• Ads: Declare if your app contains ads
• App Access: Confirm all features are accessible
• Target Audience: Select appropriate age groups

Pricing & Distribution

1. Select Free or Paid
2. Select available countries
3. Accept content guidelines and export laws
4. Click Save Draft

8 Submit for Review

1. Go back to App Releases
2. Click Edit Release
3. Click Review
4. Click Start Rollout to Production
5. Confirm your submission

Updating Your App

When releasing updates, remember to:

1. Increment the Version (e.g., 1.0 → 1.1)
2. Always increment Bundle Version Code (e.g., 1 → 2 → 3)
3. Build a new .aab file
4. Upload to a new release in Play Console