Google Play policies.

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:bust_in_silhouette: Asked By Nick888

Hi guys.

After 5 months of big try i finished my first game and actually i am ready to upload it on Google Play store.
In my search on the internet i show some very discouraging situations about the terminated accounts for a big part of developers!The developers openly complain to Google that it has terminated their accounts for ridiculous reasons!
Also, when someone send an appeal to Google, then Google apply with a bot message!!!

It’s all worth it in the end of the day, or creating games is just for our satisfaction and dream, and all stops there?

Thank you.

:bust_in_silhouette: Reply From: johnygames

That is a good question!

When it comes to Google services and products, I feel that I don’t want to use them at all exactly because of those policies you mention. Youtube, for example, has given us a plethora of reasons why we should not create a serious account and try to monetize our videos. There have been examples of people being demonetized for no apparent reason and people who have lost the copyright to their own content due to false copyright infringement claims.

Hearing all that surely is discouraging. Still, I think that giving Google Play a shot might be worth it. To my mind, the worst case scenario is that Google locks you out of your account, in which case you can try to sort it out or just say “well, at least I tried”.

In any case, I would suggest you go ahead and attempt to distribute your game via Play. However, I strongly advise you to research everything thoroughly before moving on; review Google’s policies, decide on a marketing plan beforehand (if you want to sell your game), incorporate any third-party advertisement in-game apps after you have made sure they comply with your needs and ethics, and generally speaking, research every aspect of this procedure before you set out to publish your game. The last thing you want is unpleasant surprises and “hidden” policies.

Finally, if everything fails with Google Play, I am sure that there are other distributors out there, though less known. A simple Google serach (how ironic!) will list quite a few alternatives. When presented with the choice between not publishing your game at all and publishing it on a less known platform, I think you should opt for the second option.

As regards your question whether making games is for our personal satisfaction only, that depends on what you consider to be satisfying. If you are a serious developer who aims to make money from games, you might have to look into things that have nothing to do with game-making per se. You might have to familiarize yourself with laws regarding tax policies in your area, which I guess is… a TAXING job. You might have to keep track of your sales and advertisement campaigns, which can also be an arduous endeavour, especially if all you want to do is make games, like the enthusiastic game developer that you are. If all that hassle doesn’t bother you, then satisfaction and financial benefit can go hand in hand. I hope that helps you.

By the way, does Google Play still charge you a yearly fee of $100 to open up and sustain a developer account? If not, that’s all the more reason for you to try it.

Thank you so much for the motivation!

For Google Play, it is a one-time fee of $25 USD.

In this two sentences you say everything for me now :

  1. To my mind, the worst case scenario is that Google locks you out of your account, in which case you can try to sort it out or just say “well, at least I tried”.

  2. A simple Google search (how ironic!) will list quite a few alternatives. When presented with the choice between not publishing your game at all and publishing it on a less known platform, I think you should opt for the second option.

Also …A simple Google search (how ironic!)… haha,SO TRUE!!!

Thank you very much again!

Nick888 | 2019-08-09 13:58