Since apps need to meet certain standards to be published on the Google Play Store, I've summarized all the steps you need to follow to successfully publish your next app. The main focus is setting up Unity in such a way that, after building your APK and uploading it on the Google Play Console, you won't receive any compliance errors.
However, I won't talk about the necessary steps inside of the Google Play Console, but you can have a look at Google's official documentation where they're covering that topic in full length.
Make sure to have the following software downloaded and installed:
The following development kits are required to successfully build the app:
NDK (Native Development Kit) is a set of tools that allows you to use C and C++ code with Android, and provides platform libraries you can use to manage native activities and access physical device components, such as sensors and touch input.
SDK (Software Development Kit) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger, and perhaps a software framework.
JDK (Java Development Kit) is a software development environment that offers a collection of tools and libraries necessary for developing Java applications.
Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It controls the development process from the tasks of compilation and packaging to testing, deployment, and publishing.
Select Player Settings and make the following changes:
Then, select Publishing Settings.
In the hierarchy:
⚠️ Skip the next step if you are using Unity version 2020.
Editing Gradle files:
That's it! Now the project is ready for development and the APK can be easily built and uploaded on Play Store.
After launching, if you are able to see the cube and it is tracked when you move the phone, this would mean that all the settings are perfect and you should not have any problem.
Once you have the project tested and ready, save and exit it. Navigate to the location of this project and rename it as a Template. Create a GitHub repository and upload/push this project there.
<div class=callout><div class="callout-emoji">💡</div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;">PRO TIP: While pushing Unity projects to GitHub, you will need only the following folders: Assets, Packages, ProjectSettings, and UserSettings. The rest of them can be deleted, they are generated by Unity itself the next time you launch.<p></div>
So, the next time you want to create a new AR Project, just make another copy/branch of the template and start working directly, you won't have to repeat this entire process of downloading all the packages, build- and project settings all over again!
Congratulations! You have successfully set up Unity to create amazing apps/games.
If you've enjoyed the insights shared here, why not spread the word? Share the post with your friends and colleagues who might also find it valuable.
Your support means the world to us and helps us create more content you'll love.