How to Publish a Unity Game on Google Play: The Full Release Path

Short answer: create a Google Play developer account, build an Android App Bundle (AAB) in Unity that targets API level 36, sign it with your own upload key, create the app in Play Console, complete the App content forms and the store listing, and release through a testing track to production. If your personal developer account was created after 13 November 2023, you must first run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 consecutive days before you can apply for production.

This guide walks through each stage in order and links to a detailed guide where one exists. The free Publish toolkit has a tool for most stages: AdMob IDs, app-ads.txt, privacy policy, Data safety CSV, store graphics and a promo video.

1. The developer account

• Registration costs a one-time US$25 and you must be 18 or older.
• Personal account: for individuals. You verify your identity and a developer email address.
• Organisation account: for a company. It needs a D-U-N-S number, which is free but can take up to 30 days to obtain, so request it early.
• The account type matters for the next step: the closed-testing requirement applies to personal accounts created after 13 November 2023.

2. The closed test for new personal accounts

Google’s rule: new personal accounts must run a closed test with a minimum of 12 testers who have been opted in continuously for at least 14 days before applying for production access. Older guides say 20 testers; Google lowered it to 12. The 14 days must be consecutive, so testers who leave and rejoin restart the count.

• Start it as early as possible: you can keep building while the clock runs.
• Testers need a Google account; you add them by email list or Google Group, and each one must opt in through the test link and install the app.
• Ask real players for feedback, because the production application asks what you learned during testing.
• Internal testing (up to 100 testers, builds arrive within minutes) is useful for your own devices but does not count toward this requirement.

3. Build settings in Unity

• Build an Android App Bundle (.aab): in Build Settings, tick "Build App Bundle (Google Play)". New apps must publish as AABs since August 2021.
• Target API level 36: Player Settings → Android → Other Settings → Target API Level. Google requires new apps and updates to target Android 16 (API level 36) since 31 August 2026 (extensions to 1 November 2026 were available on request). Your Unity version must support it, so check before upgrading the SDK.
• IL2CPP and ARM64: Google Play requires 64-bit support, which in Unity means the IL2CPP scripting backend with ARM64 ticked.
• Package name, version and version code: a unique package name that is yours (never the template author’s), and a version code that increases with every upload.

4. Signing: upload key and Play App Signing

Create your own keystore in Unity’s Publishing Settings. With Play App Signing, Google holds the app signing key and you sign uploads with your upload key. Back the keystore and its passwords up in two places. If you do lose the upload key, Google says you are not locked out: generate a new key, export its certificate and request an upload key reset in Play Console. Never use a keystore that came inside a template.

5. Real ads

Replace every AdMob test ID with your own, remove test devices and debug consent settings, and publish a consent message. The details are in switching AdMob test ads to real ads in Unity, and app-ads.txt is in its own guide. Do it before the closed test, so testers see the build you will ship.

6. App content: the paperwork

Under Policy and programs → App content, Play Console asks for a privacy policy, app access, ads, advertising ID, content rating, target audience and the Data safety form. Testing tracks other than internal already need Data safety. Follow Data safety, content rating and ads declarations for an AdMob game and privacy policy for a mobile game with ads.

7. Store listing graphics

Google’s specifications for the main assets:

• App icon: 512 × 512 px, 32-bit PNG with alpha, up to 1024 KB. Google Play rounds the corners, so don’t add your own.
• Feature graphic: 1024 × 500 px, JPEG or 24-bit PNG with no alpha. Keep text away from the edges.
• Screenshots: JPEG or 24-bit PNG, each side between 320 and 3840 px, the long side no more than twice the short side. At least 2 to publish, up to 8 per device type; Google recommends at least 4 at 1080 px or more.
• Promo video (optional): a YouTube URL to a single public or unlisted video, not age-restricted, with embedding allowed and ads turned off. No playlists or timecodes.

The store graphics tool exports the icon, feature graphic and screenshots at these sizes, and the promo video tool turns screenshots into a short trailer. For a trailer made from gameplay, see making a game trailer from a Unity template. Take screenshots from your build, not from the template’s listing.

8. From testing to production

1. Upload the AAB to the closed testing track, add testers, roll out. The first test link can take several hours to work.
2. After 14 days with 12 or more opted-in testers (new personal accounts), apply for production access from the Dashboard and answer the questions about your test.
3. Once granted, create a production release, choose countries, and send it for review. Google does not publish a fixed review time; plan for some days, not hours.
4. When the app is live, link it in AdMob (Apps → App settings → Add app store details) so AdMob can review it and serve ads fully.

9. After launch

• Watch Android vitals (crashes and ANRs) in Play Console during the first days.
• Keep the target API level current: Google raises it every year, and updates after the deadline must meet it.
• Update the privacy policy and Data safety form when you add an SDK.
• Reskinned a template? Run through the reskin checklist before you publish once more for identifiers and leftover template content.

Shipping to iPhone as well, without a Mac? See publishing a Unity game to the App Store without a Mac. Still choosing the game itself? Browse Unity game templates that already include AdMob and a release-ready project.