Installer Publishing

This document shows you how to publish your game on Google Play Games on PC using your game installer.

With the Developer Installed flow, the game installer you provide must manage the installation, update, and uninstallation of the game.

Before you begin

Integrate the Google Play Games SDK into your game.

Package your game as a WAB file

Google Play Games on PC requires your game's installer to be uploaded to Google Play Console as a Windows app bundle (WAB) file. To create a WAB file, follow these steps:

Download the Play publishing tool. You can run this tool on the Windows command line or PowerShell.

Create the Play publishing config file, with any name. For example, play_publishing_config.xml with the following format:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<play-publishing-config version="1.0">
  <application>
    <package-name>PACKAGE_NAME</package-name>
    <version-name>VERSION_NAME</version-name>
  </application>
  <installer requiresElevation=INSTALLER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION acceptsCommandLineArguments=ACCEPTS_COMMAND_LINE_ARGUMENTS>
    <path>INSTALLER_PATH</path>
    <installation-path-registry-location>
      <key-name>UNIQUE_REGISTRY_PATH</key-name>
      <value-name>InstallLocation</value-name>
    </installation-path-registry-location>
  </installer>
  <launcher requiresElevation=LAUNCHER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION>
    <launch-path-registry-location>
      <key-name>UNIQUE_REGISTRY_PATH</key-name>
      <value-name>InstallLocation</value-name>
    </launch-path-registry-location>
    <executable-invocation>
      <filename>RELATIVE_PATH_TO_LAUNCHER_EXE</filename>
      <arguments>LAUNCHER_ARGS_IF_ANY</arguments>
    </executable-invocation>
  </launcher>
  <uninstaller requiresElevation=UNINSTALLER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION>
    <uninstall-path-registry-location>
      <key-name>UNIQUE_REGISTRY_PATH</key-name>
      <value-name>UninstallString</value-name>
    </uninstall-path-registry-location>
  </uninstaller>
</play-publishing-config>

Replace the following:

PACKAGE_NAME: The package name for your game. This is the unique identifier that will be associated with your game on Google Play. For example, com.yourcompany.yourgame. The package name must adhere to the following rules:
- It must have at least two segments (one or more dots).
- Each segment must start with a letter.
- All characters must be alphanumeric or an underscore ([a-zA-Z0-9_]).
VERSION_NAME: The game's version string. This can be an arbitrary string, but it must be unique across all uploaded WABs for your game. For example: 1.0, 1.0.1-beta, 2025.11.24, v1.rc1.
- INSTALLER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION: Indicates whether the installer executable needs to be run as Administrator to complete the installation process.
  - "true": Run the executable as Administrator.
  Warning: Displays a UAC prompt for the gamer.
  - "false": Run the executable as the current user.
- ACCEPTS_COMMAND_LINE_ARGUMENTS: A boolean value that indicates whether the installer can accept command-line arguments to enable the auto-play feature. This is optional and the default value is false. For more information, see Enabling Auto-Play.
- INSTALLER_PATH: The path to your installer file within the WAB. This path can be either absolute or relative to the parent directory of the Play publishing config. For example, path\to\test\installer. Remember to use authenticode and code signing to sign your game's installer executable.
- UNIQUE_REGISTRY_PATH: The Windows registry key path. This path must be provided relative to a registry hive such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER; don't include the hive name in the path string. For example, if your installer writes to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourUniqueName, specify only Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourUniqueName. Google Play Games on PC searches for this path under multiple hives to locate the values required for launch and uninstallation.
  
  The executable specified in INSTALLER_PATH must create these registry keys. Before installation completes, these registry-key and value-name pairs specified under installation-path-registry-location, launch-path-registry-location, and uninstall-path-registry-location must be created. While the example uses InstallLocation and UninstallString, you can specify any name in these <value-name> tags, as long as your installer creates corresponding registry entries for all three. Google Play Games on PC uses these values to launch and uninstall the game. If your game uses a launcher, then this path must point to the registry key containing installation information for the launcher, and the value in the registry entry specified by launch-path-registry-location must point to the launcher's directory.
  
  This path must be unique on the user's machine. For example: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourUniqueName.
  
  If your game installer is a 32-bit application running on 64-bit Windows, Windows uses registry redirection to write registry entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node. For example, a write to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourUniqueName is redirected to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\YourUniqueName.
- LAUNCHER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION: Indicates whether the launcher or game executable needs to be run as Administrator every time it is launched.
  - "true": Run the executable as Administrator.
  Warning: Displays a UAC prompt for the gamer.
  - "false": Run the executable as the current user.
- RELATIVE_PATH_TO_LAUNCHER_EXE: The path to your launcher or game executable within the installation directory. This has to include your launcher or game executable filename. For example, if your launcher or game file is called mygame.exe and it is located under {INSTALL_DIR}\Resources\mygame.exe, you have to put Resources\mygame.exe
- LAUNCHER_ARGS_IF_ANY: Any command line arguments that need to be passed into your launcher or game. This entry is optional.
  - In case of multiple arguments associated with an executable, they need to be separated by a space.
  - The arguments need to be prepended with a '--' or '-', if that is required by the executable.
- UNINSTALLER_REQUIRES_ELEVATION: Indicates whether the uninstaller executable needs to be run as Administrator to complete the uninstallation process.
  - "true": Run the executable as Administrator.
  Warning: Displays a UAC prompt for the gamer.
  - "false": Run the executable as the current user.

Example Play publishing config file

Consider a game called MyGame, with game installer game_installer.exe, game's launcher launcher.exe. The example also shows how to use CDATA. The following is what the play_publishing_config.xml will look like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<play-publishing-config version="1.0">
  <application>
    <!-- The package name for your game. -->
    <package-name>com.mycompany.mygame</package-name>
    <!-- The game's version string. -->
    <version-name>1.0.0</version-name>
  </application>
  <!-- If requiresElevation is "true", installer runs as Administrator
       and a UAC prompt is displayed. This is required for system-wide
       installs (e.g., to Program Files) or writing to HKLM. -->
  <!-- If acceptsCommandLineArguments is "true", the installer must
       be able to accept command-line arguments to enable the auto-play
       feature. -->
  <installer requiresElevation="true" acceptsCommandLineArguments="true">
    <!-- Path to your installer executable. -->
    <path>game_installer.exe</path>
    <!-- The registry location where the installer writes the installation path. -->
    <installation-path-registry-location>
      <!-- Registry key path (typically under HKLM or HKCU).
           game_installer.exe MUST create this key. -->
      <key-name>SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\MySystemWideUniqueKey</key-name>
      <!-- game_installer.exe, specified in <path>, creates the registry
           value called 'InstallLocation' within
           SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\MySystemWideUniqueKey
           by the time it exits. -->
      <value-name>InstallLocation</value-name>
    </installation-path-registry-location>
  </installer>

  <!-- If requiresElevation is "true", launcher runs as Administrator
       and a UAC prompt is displayed on every game launch. -->
  <launcher requiresElevation="true">
    <!-- Specifies the registry location where Google Play Games reads the installation path
         in order to launch the game. -->
    <launch-path-registry-location >
      <!-- Registry key path (typically under HKLM or HKCU) where
           the launch path can be found. -->
      <key-name>SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\MySystemWideUniqueKey</key-name>
      <!-- Google Play Games reads the installation directory from this
           registry value, for example InstallLocation, to launch the game. -->
      <value-name>InstallLocation</value-name>
    </launch-path-registry-location>
    <executable-invocation>
      <!-- Game executable or launcher filename, relative to the
           directory path specified in the InstallLocation registry value. -->
      <filename>launcher.exe</filename>
      <!-- Optional arguments to pass to the executable.
           CDATA is used here to avoid issues with special characters
           like & or >. -->
      <arguments><![CDATA[arg1&arg2>arg3]]></arguments>
    </executable-invocation>
  </launcher>

  <!-- If requiresElevation is "true", uninstaller runs as
       Administrator and a UAC prompt is displayed for uninstall. -->
  <uninstaller requiresElevation="true">
    <!-- Registry key where Google Play Games finds the
         uninstallation command. -->
    <uninstall-path-registry-location>
      <!-- Registry key path (typically under HKLM or HKCU) where
           uninstall command can be found. -->
      <key-name>SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\MySystemWideUniqueKey</key-name>
      <!-- game_installer.exe also creates the registry value, for example, 'UninstallString'
           within SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\MySystemWideUniqueKey,
           containing the command Google Play Games executes to uninstall
           the game. -->
      <value-name>UninstallString</value-name>
    </uninstall-path-registry-location>
  </uninstaller>
</play-publishing-config>

Run the Play publishing tool on the Windows command line or Powershell.
```
playpublishingtool.exe build-installer-bundle --input=PLAY_PUBLISHING_CONFIG_PATH --output=WAB_OUTPUT_PATH
```
To overwrite an existing WAB file with the same name, use the --force argument.
```
playpublishingtool.exe build-installer-bundle --input=PLAY_PUBLISHING_CONFIG_PATH --output=WAB_OUTPUT_PATH --force
```
Replace the following:
- PLAY_PUBLISHING_CONFIG_PATH: The path to the Play publishing config. For example, path\to\play_publishing_config.xml.
- WAB_OUTPUT_PATH: The path to the WAB file. For example, path\to\output_bundle.wab.
Important: The WAB filename in the --output must have a .wab extension.

Note: The --input and --output paths can be absolute or relative with respect to the current working directory.
How to use Play publishing tool

Consider that you have the Play publishing tool binary playpublishingtool.exe, Play publishing config play_publishing_config.xml and your game installer game_installer.exe in the current working directory.

Your current working directory should look like this:
```
.\
├── game_installer.exe
├── play_publishing_config.xml
├── playpublishingtool.exe
```
To create a WAB with the name, say, installer_bundle.wab in the same directory, the command would look like:
```
playpublishingtool.exe build-installer-bundle --input=play_publishing_config.xml --output=installer_bundle.wab
```
With the --force argument, the command would look like:
```
playpublishingtool.exe build-installer-bundle --input=play_publishing_config.xml --output=installer_bundle.wab --force
```
On success, you should see output similar to the following:
```
Successfully built the installer bundle at installer_bundle.wab
```
Find the WAB file in the folder:
```
  .\
  ├── game_installer.exe
  ├── installer_bundle.wab
  ├── play_publishing_config.xml
  ├── playpublishingtool.exe
```
Enabling Auto-Play upon installation of your PC Native Games (Optional)

Google Play Games on PC lets you enable an "auto-play" feature, which automatically launches your game immediately after the installation process completes. This feature provides a seamless user experience by transitioning the player directly into the game, fully authenticated within the Google Play Games on PC ecosystem.

How it works

When you enable the feature, Google Play Games on PC will pass a session token to your third-party (3P) installer process using command-line arguments. Your installer is then responsible for extracting this token and using it to launch the game executable in an authenticated context.

Prerequisites

To use this feature, your 3P installer must be capable of handling command-line arguments.

Implementation Steps
1. Enable Auto-Play in Play Publishing Config
  
  To opt-in to this feature, add the acceptsCommandLineArguments attribute to the <installer> element in your play_publishing_config.xml.
  
  Example of excerpt from the play_publishing_config.xml contents:
  <installer requiresElevation="true" acceptsCommandLineArguments="true"> <path>path/to/installer.exe</path> <installation-path-registry-location> <key-name>SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\key</key-name> <value-name>InstallPath</value-name> </installation-path-registry-location> </installer>
  - Attribute: acceptsCommandLineArguments
  - Type: Boolean
  - Default: false
  - Behavior: When you set it to true, GPG will append the session token to the command-line arguments when executing your installer.
2. Handle the Session Token in Your Installer
  
  When your installer is launched by the GPG client, it will receive the session token as a command-line argument.
  - Argument Format: --g_session_token=<TOKEN>
  What you must do:
  - Extraction: Your installer must parse the command-line arguments to retrieve the token string.
  - Propagation: If your installation flow involves launching a secondary launcher or game process, your installer is responsible for securely passing the session token to the final game process that uses the SDK.
  - Launch: Use the provided session token to start the game executable. This ensures the game runs within an authenticated GPG context. Otherwise, InitializeSDK will fail and your player will need to restart your game.
3. Error Handling and Fallbacks
  - Token Retrieval: If, for any reason, GPG cannot generate or pass a session token (e.g., token generation failure), the installation process will still proceed. However, your installer will be launched without the --g_session_token argument.
  - Robustness: Your installer should be designed to handle scenarios where the session token is absent. In such cases, the installer should proceed with a standard installation; you should not trigger automatic game launch as InitializeSDK will fail anyway.
  - Installer Errors: You are responsible for the robustness and error handling of your installer and the game launch sequence it initiates. GPG does not have control over processes that occur within the installer after it has been launched.

Publish the game using Play Console

After you successfully create the WAB for your game, upload it to Play Console and manage its settings and requirements. Follow the steps to publish your game:

Add the Google Play Games on PC form factor

This step is only required the first time you publish a game.

In the Play Console on the left menu, select Test and release > Setup > Advanced settings (direct link).
Go to the Form factors tab and add Google Play Games on PC from the + Add form factor drop-down.

Note: If you cannot access the Google Play Games on PC in the form factors tab, you can reach out to our Play partners to allowlist your account.
Click the Manage button corresponding to the Google Play Games on PC form factor on the right-hand side.
Select the option Use a dedicated track for your Windows app bundle game.
Click Save and then Save again on the confirmation dialog.

Turn on Managed Publishing

To turn on Managed publishing, follow these steps.

On the Publishing Overview page, in the Managed Publishing section, click Turn on Managed Publishing.
A dialog will appear. Switch to Managed publishing on for the track.
Click Save.

Upload the WAB file

To upload the WAB file, follow these steps:

In the Play Console on the left menu, select Test and release > Advanced settings (direct link).
In the Advanced settings page, click Form factors tab.
In the Form factors tab, click + Add form factor and select Google Play Games on PC to add.
In the Google Play Games on PC section, click Manage.
Select Use a dedicated track for your Windows app bundle game.
Click Save.
In the Play Console on the left menu, select Test and release > Production (direct link).
In the Production page, select Google Play Games on PC (Windows) only from the form factor drop-down.
In the Windows app bundle tab, click Edit and upload the WAB file.

Configure the Windows PC requirements

To configure the Windows PC requirements:

In the Play Console on the left menu, select Grow users > Store presence > Store settings (direct link).
In the PC requirements section, click the Edit button on the right-hand side.
Update the fields and click Save.

Configure the in-app purchase graphic

This is an optional step. To configure the in-app purchase graphic:

In the Play Console on the left menu, select Grow users > Store presence > Store listings(direct link).
In the Default store listing section in the Listings tab, click the -> (arrow) button on the right-hand side. This will take you to the Default store listing page.
Navigate to the Google Play Games on PC section and upload the image at Google Play Games on PC (Windows) in-app purchase graphic.
Click Save.

Send changes for review

In the Play Console on the left menu, select Publishing overview.
In the Changes not yet sent for review section, click Send changes for review.

When the Review team has approved your changes, your game will be discoverable on Google Play.

Installer Publishing Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Before you begin

Package your game as a WAB file

Example Play publishing config file

How to use Play publishing tool

Enabling Auto-Play upon installation of your PC Native Games (Optional)

Publish the game using Play Console

Add the Google Play Games on PC form factor

Turn on Managed Publishing

Upload the WAB file

Configure the Windows PC requirements

Configure the in-app purchase graphic

Send changes for review

Installer Publishing