Shipping solo means there’s no QA team between you and the reviews. So before every release, big or small, I work through the same list. None of it is clever; all of it has caught something at least once.
Build
- Target the required API level. Google Play requires new apps and updates to target a recent Android version, and the deadline moves up every year. Check the current requirement in the Play Console before you build, not after the upload is rejected.
- Upload an Android App Bundle. Play has required
.aabfiles for new apps since 2021, and bundles let Play deliver smaller, device-specific downloads. - Build with IL2CPP for ARM64. Play requires 64-bit support, and IL2CPP is the only backend that provides it.
- Bump the version code. Play rejects an upload that reuses one, and it’s the easiest thing to forget at midnight.
- Check what went into the build. The Editor log lists every asset by size after a build. One uncompressed texture can add more download size than your whole codebase.
Test
- Test the release build, not a development build, on the oldest and slowest phone you support. Development builds hide performance problems and skip code stripping.
- Test an upgrade, not just a fresh install. Install the version that’s live on Play, make some progress, then install the new one over it. That’s where save files break — see Save files that survive your next update.
- Interrupt it. Lock the screen mid-level, rotate the phone, take a call, background it during an ad, kill it while it saves.
- Install from the internal testing track. Uploading to Play’s internal track and installing from the store catches signing and bundle problems that a local build never shows.
Release
- Use a staged rollout. Release to a small share of players first — 10 to 20% — and watch for a day or two before going to everyone. A staged rollout can be halted; a full release can only be followed by a fix.
- Watch Android vitals. The Play Console tracks your crash and ANR (app not responding) rates. Stay well under Google’s bad-behaviour thresholds, because crossing them hurts how visible the game is on the store.
- Check the Data safety form. Updating an ads or analytics SDK can change what data the game collects, and the form has to match.
After launch
- Update the store listing. Fresh screenshots, a “What’s new” that says what actually changed, and a short description that fits Play’s 80-character limit.
- Answer reviews in the first week. People often raise their rating when you reply and fix their problem, and every reply is public proof that someone is listening.