Google Play has specific requirements that an application must meet before you publish it. Familiarize yourself with these requirements and understand how to fulfill them before you publish an application to Google Play.
For information on how to publish your application on Google Play, refer to Google Play.
Google Play requires new applications to be an Android App Bundle (AAB) instead of an APKThe Android Package format output by Unity. An APK is automatically deployed to your device when you select File > Build & Run. More info
See in Glossary. For information on why, refer to The future of Android App Bundles is here (Android developer blog).
To configure an application to be an AAB:
Open Build Profiles window (menu: File > Build Profiles).
From the list of platforms in the Platforms pane, select Android.
Select Player SettingsSettings that let you set various player-specific options for the final game built by Unity. More info
See in Glossary.
In the Publishing Settings section, enable Split Application Binary.
In the Build ProfilesA set of customizable configuration settings to use when creating a build for your target platform. More info
See in Glossary window, under Platform Settings section, enable Build App Bundle (Google Play). If you want to export the project and build it in Android Studio, enable Export Project and then enable Export for App Bundle.
Notes:
When you Build the application, Unity builds the application as an AAB.
Google Play limits the install size of applications. The following table describes the size limitations Google Play has for each application type:
| Application type | Size limitation |
|---|---|
| APK | If you split the application binary or use a custom expansion file, the APK must be smaller than 100 MB and the expansion file must be smaller than 2 GB. Otherwise, the APK must be smaller than 100 MB. |
| AAB | If you split the application binary or use custom asset packs, the base module inside the AAB must be smaller than 200 MB and the asset packs must fit the file sizes described in the Google Play maximum size limits documentation. Otherwise, the AAB must be smaller than 200 MB. |
For information on how to optimize the install size of your application, refer to Optimize distribution size.
Google Play limits the size of the symbols package or the embedded symbols within an Android App Bundle. The symbols files might be rejected if their file size exceeds this limit. Unity displays a warning if your symbols package exceeds the size limit specified in the Symbols size threshold in the Android Player settings > Other Settings > Configuration.
Texture compression targeting is a feature of Android App Bundles that helps Google Play to generate and serve optimized APKs for different devices. If you enable it, Unity includes texture assets formatted with different compression formats in any Android App Bundles that it builds. When a device installs the application from Google Play, the APKs that the device receives contain texture assets that use the optimal texture compression3D Graphics hardware requires Textures to be compressed in specialized formats which are optimized for fast Texture sampling. More info
See in Glossary format for the device.
Texture compression targeting also automatically enables the split application binary feature and generates an install-time asset pack called UnityTextureCompressionsAssetPack. This asset pack contains common resources and assets required by the first sceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
See in Glossary. When you disable texture compression targeting, Unity packs these assets into the base module. This means that enabling texture compression targeting reduces the size of the base module. This can be important because the base module has a size limit of 200 MB. For more information on how Unity configures asset packs, refer to Asset packs in Unity.
To enable texture compression targeting:
PlayerSettings.Android.textureCompressionFormats API to assign the required texture compression formats.Note: When the texture compression targeting is enabled, Unity disables and ignores the Texture Compression Build setting which means you can’t use this setting to override the texture compression format for a build.
If you don’t enable Android App Bundles and export or build your application as an APK, Unity only uses the first texture compression format in the Texture Compression Formats list.
If you want some texture assets to use specific texture compression formats, you can override their texture compression format. The value you set for an individual texture overridesPlatform-specific settings that allow you to set the resolution, file size with associated memory size requirements, pixel dimensions, and quality of your Textures for each target platform. More info
See in Glossary the default texture compression format and the optimal format that Google Play would select for specific target devices. For information on how to change the texture formatA file format for handling textures during real-time rendering by 3D graphics hardware, such as a graphics card or mobile device. More info
See in Glossary of individual textures, refer to the documentation on Texture Import Settings window reference.
Google Play requires applications to support 64-bit architecture. For more information, refer to Support 64-bit architectures.
To make your application support 64-bit architecture, follow these steps:
Google Play requires applications to support a minimum target API. For information on what the current minimum target API is, refer to Meet Google Play’s target API level requirement.
To change your application’s target API:
Google Play can check the Package Manager and Asset StoreA growing library of free and commercial assets created by Unity and members of the community. Offers a wide variety of assets, from textures, models and animations to whole project examples, tutorials and Editor extensions. More info
See in Glossary packages that your application uses for known certification failures. It does this automatically after you upload your application to the Play Store and before the main certification process begins. This helps to identify issues with your application’s dependencies quickly without running the full certification process. If Google Play finds issues, it reports them to you via the Play Store Console along with details about the issues and how you can fix them before you submit the application again.
To report dependencies, follow these steps:
Google Play requires applications to be signed. For information on how to sign your application, refer to Android Keystore Manager.