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I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this sort of question but since there is a tag...

I've just released a new game (my first one actually) two days ago. And I've just noticed that it showed up as an update instead of a freshly released game: Under ADDITIONAL INFORMATION section on the listing page it shows Updated instead of Released. I don't know how that happened and I'm worried it may affect the relevance of the game on the store. Is there any way to fix this issue? Am I right about worrying about the relevance of the game?

Link to the listing page of the game: Google Play link.

EDIT:

To clear any confusion, I'm not talking about people seeing the install/update button when they are about to install/update the game. I'm talking about the game release dateitself. The game shows up as an update from the Google Play Console as if it was released before. Me publishing the game for the first time was interpretted as updating an already released game, why?

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I assume that while you were developing the game, you had a version of it installed in your device. Development versions of apps are able to be installed on devices without much checking. When you release the app, android checks that your previous version of that app is a development one, so it updates to the release.

Android can tell the difference between apps based on their unique package name (com.mycompany.myapp), and because your app most likely has the same for both development and release versions, both cannot exist on the same device. This has no impact on random users.

Keep in mind that when installing a new version of an app, android also takes a look at the build number. So if you try to "force" an installation of your app with the same build number, android will complain that it is the same app so it won't do anything unless you uninstall it yourself (or some android versions can do that for you).

On the bottom of the page it says "Updated" and has a date. This literally means "Last date the app was updated", there is no "Released". The game was last updated the last time you uploaded an apk. If it's the first time you uploaded it, then that's the last time it was updated. This doesn't affect users at all.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't understand how this is related to the listing page. When releasing a game for the first time shouldn't it be a Released game? Shouldn't Updated be shown only when the apk is changed on the Play Console? \$\endgroup\$
    – ibrahim mahrir
    Jul 16, 2018 at 14:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ibrahimmahrir Android does not understand the difference. In android's eyes, you have an .apk file that you are installing. If they have the same package name, for android, that's the same app. No matter if it's a development version, downloaded from the Play Store, or if it came from anywhere else in the world. This also means that if you create a new app and give it a package name of another app you have installed (GMail for example) android will think they are the same app, and if the build version is higher enough, android will attempt to "upgrade" GMail with the new app. \$\endgroup\$
    – TomTsagk
    Jul 16, 2018 at 15:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm affraid that's not true. Apks are signed. You can't just give an apk an id and fool android with it. Anyways, my question is a totally different one. I'm talking about the Google Play Console and why it showed my newly released app as an update and not as a new release in the listing page. \$\endgroup\$
    – ibrahim mahrir
    Jul 16, 2018 at 15:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ ... Are suggesting that the Google Play Console, prior to releasing an app, searches every phone in the world for an app that has the same id. If it finds one then the released app is shown as an Updated one, if not then it is a Released one? Don't you think that's an overkill? \$\endgroup\$
    – ibrahim mahrir
    Jul 16, 2018 at 15:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ibrahimmahrir As I said, that's because you have the app installed in your phone. I don't see your app as an update, I see it as a new install, as I don't have it already installed on my phone. If users had a previous version of your app on their phone they'd see it as an update, otherwise its a new version. \$\endgroup\$
    – TomTsagk
    Jul 16, 2018 at 15:46

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