How to Publish a Game on Google Play: Step-by-Step Guide

To publish a game on Google Play, an adult creates a Play Console developer account for 25 US dollars and verifies their identity. Then you upload the game as an Android App Bundle, fill in the store listing and policy forms, and send it for review. New personal accounts must first run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days. This guide walks through every step in order, with the Play Console sections, the rules that apply in November 2026 and the mistakes that cause rejections.

How Google Play publishing works, and how long it takes

Everything happens in Play Console, Google's website for app and game developers. You set up an account, upload your game, describe it, answer some policy questions and test it with real people. Then Google reviews it and you release it. For a brand-new personal account, plan on three to five weeks. Most of that time is the required 14-day closed test, so start it as early as you can.

If your game is not finished yet, start with our beginner's roadmap for mobile games. This guide assumes you have a working game.

Step 1: Create a Google Play developer account

The account owner must be at least 18 years old. If you are younger, a parent or guardian creates and owns the account. They accept the legal agreement, pay the fee and handle any money the game earns. To let you help without sharing passwords, they can invite your Google Account under Users and permissions.

1. Sign up. Open the Play Console sign-up page with a Google Account you will keep for years. Accept the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement.
2. Choose an account type. Pick personal if you publish as an individual. An organization account is for registered businesses and needs a D-U-N-S number, a company ID from Dun & Bradstreet.
3. Pay the fee. As of November 2026, it is 25 US dollars, paid once. Google accepts major credit and debit cards, but not prepaid cards.
4. Verify your identity. Google may ask for a government ID and a card in the same legal name. This often takes a few days.
5. Verify an Android device. Personal account owners confirm access to an Android phone through the Play Console mobile app before they can publish.

Android is also adding developer verification, which checks that apps come from verified developers. It starts in a few countries in September 2026 and spreads worldwide in 2027. Google Play registers almost all Play apps for you automatically. Still, check Play Console for any message asking you to act. Apps you share outside Google Play, such as APK files on itch.io, need registering too. Google's Play Console sign-up help lists the current requirements.

Step 2: Build an Android App Bundle (AAB)

An APK is the file that installs a game on a phone. Google Play does not accept APKs for new apps. Instead, you upload an Android App Bundle (AAB), a file ending in .aab. Google turns it into smaller APKs made for each phone, so players download less.

As of November 2026, your bundle must meet these rules:

• Target API level 36 (Android 16) or higher. The target API level tells Android which version your game was built and tested for. Google raises this minimum every year, usually by August 31.
• A higher version code for every upload. The version code is a whole number that must grow with each build you upload: 1, 2, 3 and so on.
• Support for 16 KB memory pages. Some newer phones manage memory in bigger blocks, and Google Play requires games that target Android 15 or higher to work on them. Recent Unity and Godot versions handle it, so update your engine if Play Console shows a warning.
• A release signature. You sign the bundle with an upload key, a private key stored in a password-protected keystore file. Never upload a debug build.

In Unity 6: open File > Build Profiles, select Android, click Switch Platform if it is not active yet, and tick Build App Bundle (Google Play). Set the Target API Level and Bundle Version Code under Edit > Project Settings > Player > Other Settings. Create your upload key with the Keystore Manager in Publishing Settings.

In Godot 4: install the Android build template from the Project menu. Gradle is the tool that packs Android apps, and Godot needs it to make an AAB. In Project > Export, select your Android preset and turn on Gradle Build > Use Gradle Build. Set Export Format to AAB, fill in the release keystore fields and untick Export With Debug when you export.

For engine setup from scratch, see our guides on making a mobile game in Unity and making a mobile game in Godot. Google's target API level page always shows the current minimum.

Step 3: Create your game in Play Console

In Play Console, click Create app and fill in the basics:

• App name: the name players see on Google Play. You can change it later.
• Package name: a unique ID such as com.yourname.skyhopper. It must match the one in your engine. It is permanent, so you can never change or reuse it.
• Default language and app or game: choose your main language, then choose Game.
• Free or paid: choose carefully. Once a game has been offered for free, it can never be changed to paid. Selling a paid game also needs a payments profile.
• Contact email: players can use it to reach you, so create a separate address for your games.
• Declarations: confirm the Developer Program Policies and US export laws, and accept the Play App Signing terms.

Play App Signing means Google stores the final signing key for your game, and you sign every upload with your own upload key. The diagram above shows how the two keys fit together.

Step 4: Make a store listing that sells your game

Your store listing is your game's page on Google Play. Most players decide in a few seconds, based on the icon, the first screenshots and the short description. These are the main requirements as of November 2026:

For games, Google asks for at least three gameplay screenshots in 16:9 landscape (1920 by 1080 pixels or more) or 9:16 portrait (1080 by 1920 or more). Games that meet this can appear in more places on Google Play. Show real gameplay in the screenshots, and in the first 10 seconds of your video. Google's graphic assets page has every size.

• Be honest. Do not put words like "best", "#1" or "free" in your title or icon, and skip emojis and ALL CAPS. Google can reject listings that use them.
• Write for people first. Use your main keyword naturally, for example "a one-tap arcade game". Never paste long lists of keywords.
• Declare AI-made assets. Play Console asks about each listing image and video. If AI made or edited one, declare it, and Google shows an AI label on it.

Step 5: Fill in App content: privacy policy, ads, ratings and Data safety

Before review, you answer a set of policy forms under Monitor and improve > Policy and programs > App content. Answer honestly, because wrong answers can get your game suspended.

• Privacy policy: a public web page, not a PDF, that explains what data your game collects and why. It is required even if you collect nothing. Link it in your store listing and inside the game, for example on the settings screen.
• Ads: say whether your game shows ads. This includes ads from an SDK, a ready-made code package from another company, such as an ad network. "Yes" adds a "Contains ads" label to your listing.
• App access: if parts of the game need a login, give reviewers a test account and instructions.
• Content rating: answer the rating questionnaire about violence, language and similar topics. Your game then gets official age ratings for different countries. Unrated apps are not allowed.
• Target audience: choose the age groups your game is made for. If your audience includes children, the stricter Families policy applies to ads and data.
• Data safety: list the data your game and every SDK in it collects or shares. This form is required for every app.

Step 6: Google Play closed testing with 12 testers

Google Play has four tracks. A track is a separate release channel for the same game, from a tiny private test to the public store.

If your personal developer account was created after November 13, 2023, you must run a closed test before you can publish to everyone. At least 12 testers must be opted in when you apply, and they must have stayed opted in for the last 14 days in a row. Google explains the rule on its app testing requirements page.

1. Start with an internal test. Upload your AAB under Test and release > Testing > Internal testing and install it on your own phone. This catches broken builds before your testers see them.
2. Set up the closed test. Go to Test and release > Testing > Closed testing and click Manage track. On the Testers tab, add an email list or a Google Group, plus a feedback email.
3. Create a release on the closed track. Upload your AAB, write short release notes and roll it out. The first time, it can take several hours before the test link works.
4. Invite real testers. Each tester needs an Android phone and a Google Account. They open your link, choose to become a tester and install the game from Google Play. Invite 15 to 20 people, because some always drop out.
5. Keep them playing for 14 days. Ask testers to play several times and send feedback. You can upload fixed builds during the test. If fewer than 12 testers stay opted in, your application can be delayed.
6. Apply for production. On the Dashboard, click Apply for production. Google asks how you found testers, what feedback you got, what you changed and who the game is for. Review usually takes seven days or less.

Step 7: Release your game to production

Once Google grants production access, open Test and release > Production and create a new release with your latest AAB. Choose your countries and regions, check the summary and start the rollout to production.

• Review time: Google reviews every release. A first release can take several days, so do not announce a launch date until it is approved.
• Managed publishing: this setting lets you choose exactly when an approved release goes live. It is handy for a planned launch day.
• Staged rollouts: for updates, you can release to a small share of players first and watch for crashes.
• After launch: check Android vitals for crashes, reply politely to reviews and plan your first update. Remember that the target API level rises every year.

Once your game is live, help players find it. List it on our indie mobile games page and read how to promote your indie game. Launching on iPhone too? Read how to publish a game on the App Store. If you want to earn money, read how to make money from a mobile game before you add ads or purchases.

Why games get rejected on Google Play (and how to avoid it)

• Broken or missing privacy policy link. Use a public https page that loads without a login.
• Data safety answers that do not match your SDKs. Check what each ad, analytics and crash SDK collects.
• A misleading store listing. Screenshots must show the real game, and the title must not use rankings, prices or emojis.
• Content you do not own. Famous characters, music, logos or another game's name can get your game removed.
• Disruptive ads. Full-screen ads before the game loads, or ads that cannot be closed, break Google's ads policy.
• Crashes and unfinished screens. Test the exact AAB you upload on a real phone, and remove placeholder text.
• The wrong target audience. Child age groups add strict rules for ads and data, so only choose them if your game is really made for kids.

If Google rejects or removes your game, you get an email and a notice in Play Console that names the policy. Fix the problem, upload a new version and submit it again. If you believe the decision is wrong, you can appeal.