When is a good time to open a google play developer account for testing?

I'm working on a small game I'd like to put in the Play Store, but I'm not sure when is usually a good time in the development process to start opening a google play developer account. Just for testing.

I'd love to add achievements and other google play services and I'm assuming you'll need a dev account to use all of it?

Do other developers leave this part last or should I start paying for it now, testing and keeping it under draft?

Thanks!

 

With Google Play, you pay the $25 developer fee up front and you're done. There's no recurring cost. So I think the sooner, the better.

I can't say the same for an Apple Developer account, which is $100/yr. Since I think you can now side load built apps without a paid developer account, I wouldn't bother paying for it until you're ready to put stuff on the store or need things like Test Flight or something.

 

Thanks for the reply Schneider21! One more question if you don't mind..

I know you mentioned the sooner the better, but I'm less than halfway done with my game, would getting a developer account mean I can invite friends to test my game before publishing? As you know, games change a lot during early stages of development.

I'm wondering if just sending them the APK is a better option, or still the developer account route is better?

I'm excited about paying for the membership, just want to make sure I'm doing it in the right moment.

 

With a Google Play developer account, you can invite people to test builds, yes. I think the nice thing about doing it that way is you don't have that "Are you sure you want to run this app since it might be harmful" message popping up like would happen if you just sent them an unsigned APK.

 

Thanks again Schneider21, I feel more clear now

 

other extra benefits by sending betas through publisher console:
device stats, crash logs, auto-updates for users etc.

 

I have found the best time to open a Google Developer account is between 10 am and 11 am on Tuesdays. Sorry, I couldn't resist a little humor! Sooner the better!

 

lol no problem! A little humor is always good

 

If you need someone to test your app, please feel free to DM me. Thanks in Advance