How does Google want developers to market their games on Google Play?

[TheRealSupereor]

Hello all - Supereor here, and I want to talk about something that has confused me as of late, and that is the current ecosystem of the Google Play store. I don't really know if this is the right part of the forums for this, but hopefully people can inform me where to post something like this if it's not appropriate here.

I don't want to sound like I am shamelessly marketing my game(y'know, even though it IS free ) but I released a game on the Play Store titled Night of the Red Cubes: Crimson Tide about a week ago. So far, the game has a whopping 16 downloads, and I am at a crossroads in terms of how to get the game to more people.

I then tried running a little experiment to see just how invisible the game really was on the Play Store, and my experiment had the results I kind of expected, but never wanted...

I tried to find my game on the Play Store without searching for it, and even knowing the genre of the game, how many updates it was getting, and what time it released on the Play Store, I could not find it at all. Maybe that's because it only has one review, or not enough downloads, but regardless - there is no way I could ever get this game to anyone without some form of external marketing.

I honestly want to know, and forgive me if this sounds bitter or spiteful - how does Google legitimately want new app developers to market their apps? What methods are there to separate their application from the hundreds of other apps on the Play Store? There are no places in the Play Store where you can view new applications just based on the fact that they are new, and almost every game you see is featured or is already popular and well-known at that point. Do they not have any expectations or tips, and are perfectly fine with newer games sinking in the Play Store's depths?

I don't mean to complain or sound entitled to anything, but I am genuinely curious here. While I am perfectly fine with my game not having many downloads, I wonder how many people could find it and see if they like it just from naturally seeing it in the Play Store, which at the moment, seems nigh impossible.

What do you guys think? Am I just being really entitled? Has it always been this way?

 

[Mike Dee]

Have you contacted Google? I would imagine they could provide some insight as you're not the first person to have these questions or issues.

 

[TheRealSupereor]

Have you contacted Google? I would imagine they could provide some insight as you're not the first person to have these questions or issues.

Huh, I never considered that...I always kind of considered Google some type of impenetrable wall of an entity when it came to communication, and you were always supposed to work under their whims rather than than work with them. I might try that. Thank you!

 

[Chiligames]

Huh, I never considered that...I always kind of considered Google some type of impenetrable wall of an entity when it came to communication, and you were always supposed to work under their whims rather than than work with them. I might try that. Thank you!

It is pretty hard to reach an audience, we have had to use some paid advertisement just to get our initial users on our app. Sometimes posting your creations here and there can help along with posting on your social media such as twitter and facebook. Using hashtags like #gamedev #android etc can help others view it on twitter if the game looks unique or has some interesting gameplay.

Try videos as well on your app listing