Did anyone try to publish under the new rules (for accounts newer than November 2023)? They ask for 20 people in closed testing to use the app daily for 14 consecutive days. I tried just having 20 people because I tested the app internally beforehand (didn’t know I had to re-test it) and it was refused. Pretty disappointing for a game I’ve worked for so long and that I planned on publishing two months ago.
Doesn’t seem too friendly with solo-devs or beginners. Who has the money to hire a team of 20 professional testers?

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Game Developers

New Google Play Store rules for accounts created after November 2023 require apps to have 20 people in closed testing to use the app daily for 14 consecutive days. This new requirement poses challenges for solo developers and beginners, as it complicates the publishing process and incurs additional costs for hiring testers.

Publishing to Google Play is hard nowadays

I agree. I could never rustle up 20 committed testers. On a side note, I was about to lose my Google Play account as I had not published a game for a while. Knowing about this new rule, should that happen and I created a new account, I quickly developed a doodle jump clone and used purchased assets from craftpix[dot]net. I submitted my game and was then struck with an ‘impersonation’ infringement because someone in the past had used the same assets! It’s becoming increasingly difficult for sure.

They also have some kind of an issue with their comms, and new apps created under a brand new Google Play console account, take 1-3 month to get a proper review. Their support team is horrible as well, auto replies to any emails, no personalisation etc.

“…Their support team is horrible as well, auto replies to any emails, no personalisation etc.” - I experienced the same.

I am tired. 2 accounts taken down. No response via mail. If they would respond, it would most likely be a bot’s response. Does anyone know of a way to reach out to them and have the issue cleared up?