Updating your games for modern Android





Posted by Tom Greenaway, Senior Partner Developer Advocate



Last year we announced that starting from August 2018 Google Play will require all new apps and games to target a recent Android API level – set to API level 26 (Android 8.0 Oreo), or higher. Additionally, this requirement will extend to updates for existing apps and games starting from November 2018.



Every new Android version introduces changes that bring significant security and performance improvements – and enhance the user experience of Android overall. Updating your games to target the latest API level ensures that your users can benefit from these improvements, while still allowing your games to run on older Android versions.



Simple next steps:



  • Install the Android 8.0 Oreo SDK (API level 26) via Android Studio by navigating to (Tools > Android > SDK Manager > Android SDK > SDK Platforms).
  • Update your game to target API level 26 and see whether your game has any incompatibilities or issues as soon as possible. Update any external dependencies as necessary. Learn more about the incremental changes between versions of Android here.
  • If you are using an advertising network, SDK or plugin which is incompatible with API level 26, reach out to your contacts and find out their timeline for supporting target API level 26. The sooner they're aware of these changes the better.
  • If you build your game with Unity, support for target API 26 is built into Unity 5.6.6 and beyond. Simply ensure the latest target API level is selected in your Android build settings for Unity (Build Settings > Android > Player Settings). For versions of Unity 5.6.5 and prior, consult this documentation which includes a workaround for versions dating back to 4.3.
  • For games built with Unreal, check your Android platform settings has the "Target SDK Version" set to 26.
  • If you use Cocos2D-X, check the target API level in the gradle.properties file that is generated.



Significant changes to be aware of:



  • Since API 23, we have required permissions be requested at runtime which helps streamline the app install process.
  • Since API 24, apps can no longer dynamically link against non-NDK libraries. If your app (including third-party static libraries) contains native code, you should only be using public NDK APIs.
  • If your game uses Android push notifications, the Google Play Services SDK in your game will need to be updated to version 10.2.1 or above for your game to support API level 26.
  • If your game uses opaque binary blobs (OBB), then your game must check if it can access the directory before attempting to access the OBB files themselves. We recommend explicitly requesting permission for access using the Runtime Permissions API, and gracefully handling cases wherein the permission is not granted. Additionally, add an entry in the manifest for the external storage access:





    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />





Moving ahead



Remember, updating the target API level is just the first step – make sure your game is compatible with the behavior changes between your current target API level and API level 26. Check out further guidance on the changes in past versions of Android to help in your migration process. These policy changes are important for moving the Android ecosystem forward and keeping it healthy for our users – and yours.




How useful did you find this blog post?



★ ★ ★ ★ ★





Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Google Play Referrer API: Track and measure your app installs easily and securely

Gambar
it is crucial to helping you make the right product and marketing decisions. This is especially important when you're deciding your advertising strategy and budget. "> Posted by Neto Marin, Developer Advocate Understanding how people find your app and what they do once they've installed it is crucial to helping you make the right product and marketing decisions. This is especially important when you're deciding your advertising strategy and budget. Today many app measurement companies and ad networks offer ad attribution solutions based on referral data. As such accurate install referral data is vital for correctly attributing app installs, as well as discounting fraudulent attempts for install credit. To help you obtain more accurate and reliable data about your installs, we're introducing the Google Play Install Referrer API , a reliable way to securely retrieve install referral content. Using this API, your app will get precise information straight from the P...
Baca selengkapnya

Boosting developer success on Google Play

Gambar
Posted by Sameer Samat, VP, Product Management Helping developers build sustainable businesses is a core part of Google Play’s mission. We work with partners every day to understand the challenges they face and help them bring their innovative ideas to life. Getting a new app off the ground and into orbit is not easy! To aid their quest for growth we provide a broad range of support, from powerful marketing tools and actionable data in the Play Console , education via Play Academy , "> best practices and thought leadership resources, programs such as the Indie Games Festival , Indie Corner , and accelerator programs around the world. We’re always looking for new ways to give them an added boost. Starting on July 1, 2021 we are reducing the service fee Google Play receives when a developer sells digital goods or services to 15% for the first $1M (USD) of revenue every developer earns each year. With this change, 99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and servic...
Baca selengkapnya

And the 2019 Google Play Award nominees are...

Gambar
Posted by Purnima Kochikar, Director, Apps and Games Business Development, Google Play Drum roll please! To kick off Google I/O this year, the 2019 Google Play Awards will take place on Monday, May 6th. We’re excited to highlight nine categories this year, some familiar and some new, to recognize developers that continue to set the bar for quality apps and games on Google Play. Building on previous years, we celebrate our fourth year by recognizing some of the best experiences available on Android, with an emphasis on overall quality, strong design, technical performance, and innovation. The nominees were selected by various teams across Google, and meet criteria thresholds covering high star rating, Android vitals, and have had a launch or major update since April 2018. Congratulations to this year’s nominees below and remember to check them out on Google Play at play.google.com/gpa2019 . Stay tuned as we announce the winners of each category at Google I/O. Standout Well-Being App App...
Baca selengkapnya