Official Samsung Galaxy Store leaves UDP

We want to make all UDP developers aware that as of Jan 15th 2022, Samsung Galaxy Store will no longer be a UDP Partner Store.

We want this change in service to be as painless as possible, and for you to have the information needed to figure out the next steps for keeping your game on the Samsung Galaxy Store.


As such, we’ve put together a How-to guide, and there are FAQ below that should address common questions and point you in the right directions to navigate this change in service.


As always, we appreciate your understanding when developments like this arise.


Thank you,


The UDP Team



Frequently Asked Questions

Why are Unity Distribution Portal (UDP) and Samsung Galaxy Store (SamsungGS) no longer working together?
We know that many developers chose Samsung Galaxy Store as one of their distribution partners. Providing the best experience possible for game submissions is at the core of UDP’s principles. However, in this case, Samsung have chosen to discontinue the partnership due to a change in their strategic plans.

What will happen to my game on SamsungGS?
If your game was published to SamsungGS from UDP, it will continue to exist on SamsungGS and will remain available for download on it. Additionally, users who already installed the game will still be able to play it on their device. After Jan 15th 2022, your game may have issues initializing or making IAP transactions, especially if you are using server-side IAP verification. We recommend you submit an update to your game to SamsungGS before that date to ensure a smooth transition. More details can be found in the next FAQs.

What will happen to my game on UDP?
After Jan 15th, you will no longer be able to submit game updates to SamsungGS from UDP. The UDP reporting dashboard will also no longer report SamsungGS performance data after that date.
To be clear, game submissions and operations on other UDP stores are not impacted.
Will my SamsungGS users be able to play my game after Samsung has withdrawn from UDP?
We recommend you create and submit an update to SamsungGS before Jan 15th, 2022 to avoid any disruption in game behaviour and IAP transactions.

What should I do to submit my game directly on SamsungGS?
Samsung expects games submitted to the Galaxy Store to a) integrate the Samsung IAP SDK and b) use a specific package name ending with ‘.gs’. Games should be directly submitted from the Galaxy Store Seller Portal. Find more information on the Samsung help center here.

Can I update my existing game on SamsungGS with a new build that I’d create separately?
Yes. This is actually the best way forward. High-level, this is what it takes:
• integrate the Samsung IAP SDK in your game,
• create a new APK with a package name ending with ‘.gs’ (the final package name must be the same as the one defined on SamsungGS),
• increment the version code of that build (it must be higher than the current version code on SamsungGS),
• sign the game build with the same certificate as on UDP,
• upload the new APK directly to the Galaxy Store Seller Portal,
• publish the game update from the Galaxy Store Seller Portal,
• Additionally, if your game uses server-side IAP verification, you need to create a SamsungGS-specific handler on your game server (as the UDP one will no longer function for SamsungGS).
Try and complete these steps before Jan 15th, 2022. See the guide below for more details.

Why can’t I simply create a new game on SamsungGS using the same package name as the one from UDP?
If you try to do this, the SamsungGS console will return the error “package name already exists”, referring to the one you created via UDP.

What happens if I use a different package name or a different signature for my game on SamsungGS?
The SamsungGS, as well as the players’ devices, will consider it as a separate game from the original one. Your existing players will not be served that update (they are on the “original” game). If they download the game with the new package name / new signature, they will start the game from the beginning; progress and purchases made in the original game version will not be restored.

Is there a checklist that I can follow in order to ensure I do everything properly?
Yes, we prepared a guide for this. Simply follow the instructions and you’ll get there.

Will migration tools be provided?
At this point in time there are no migration tools available. The surest way forward is to create your SamsungGS build separately with the guidance provided herein. Unity is exploring ways to facilitate this transition further; keep an eye out for related communications inside the UDP console and on the UDP Forum in the coming weeks.

Must I create a separate account on SamsungGS?
No. You will still be able to log into the Galaxy Store Seller Portal using your Samsung Developer credentials.
Am I going to be paid the same way as before?
Your Samsung Developer account will still be active, so there shouldn’t be any change to the way you’ve historically received payments.

What store alternatives exist in UDP that support game distribution to global app stores?
If your main market was Korea, ONE store is still your best alternative. To distribute globally, Huawei AppGallery, Uptodown, QooApp will get your game onto the devices of players around the world.

 

Yes, in some cases you could use a single code base using build script, but you will have to configure the build script to exclude any refences of UDP. While this is a bit harder to do, it would make sure you have everything semi automated.
A few refence links to check out are :
https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/BuildPlayerPipeline.html
https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/BuildPipeline.BuildPlayer.html
https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/BuildPlayerOptions.html

Although this is not an official tutorial from unity, here is a tutorial for creating build scripts.

Creating a copy of your project would be a easier work around, but it comes with the price of code merging every time there is a code freeze for a release.

 

Hi Serve, we understand it might be a difficult approach to have separate projects and having build scripts as well might be a bit tricky. We are currently working on a repack-only solution to ease the transition process. High-level, you’d still repack your UDP build into a Samsung build, but you’d go on to submit it directly to the Galaxy Store Portal. It is currently in development, and we aim to get it out within a couple of weeks, but there could be delays. Stay tuned for further announcements!

 

Kindly follow this link and choose “Contact Us”. Your request would typically say “I originally submitted my game via Unity Distribution Portal (UDP) and I now want to manually upload my new APK directly to GSSP. Can you please activate the APK upload for my game.”