Unlocking Success in Alternative App Stores

You've successfully launched your Android game on Google Play, but you're eager to tap into new audiences and revenue streams. The alternative app stores, such as Huawei's App Gallery, Amazon App Store, and Samsung Galaxy App Store, offer a lucrative opportunity to expand your reach. However, navigating these new platforms can be daunting, with unique challenges and requirements. In this article, we'll explore the key considerations and strategies for successfully transitioning your game to alternative app stores. The first hurdle you'll encounter is fragmentation, driven by new commercial and technological requirements. Each store has its own set of rules, payment systems, and technical requirements, which can be overwhelming. To overcome these challenges, it's essential to understand the specific requirements of each store and plan accordingly. This includes addressing in-app payments, in-game asset management, update handling, user experience, and single sign-on/logins. You'll also need to consider the implications of new Android flavors that lack support for Google Mobile Services, such as Amazon's Fire OS devices and newer Huawei devices. These devices require alternative solutions for push notifications, in-app advertising, and single sign-on. To ensure a smooth transition, it's crucial to learn about each store's requirements, build an understanding of the target channels, and plan for the differences from the outset. Beyond technical requirements, you'll need to consider operational requirements, such as separate bundle IDs, references or linking to other stores, and login/account features. Making your payment handling robust is also vital, as payment systems behave differently across stores. You'll need to factor in update handling, user messaging, in-app advertising, analytics, and attribution. Additionally, consider asset handling, single sign-on, and reporting requirements. To maximize your chances of success, it's essential to design your game's plumbing and back-end to allow for easy updates, revisions, or additions of payment or third-party features. Plan your development, build, and testing processes to produce Android variants simultaneously. Having a game compatible with alternative app stores is just the first step; you must also plan for live-ops and store management. This includes understanding operational requirements, accommodating differences in store functions, and investing in automation. Building relationships with operational staff at each store can also be beneficial. The alternative app stores are more engaged in helping you drive growth, with active roles in promotions and incentive schemes. To maximize your chances of success, ensure feature parity, be patient, and create strong relationships with account management teams. Give the stores fuel to drive creative thinking, and always be open to their ideas and proposals. By following these strategies and considering the unique requirements of each store, you can unlock a revenue boost of 10% or more in the first year.