Google Play sudden drop in Installs - 80% reduction since 6/21

butterbean

I thought I would create a thread to ease some of the minds of indie developers since it was brought up in another thread in this forum about the partial wake lock issues.

Google play has made some drastic changes to their algorithm on 6/21. This caused a massive reduction in installs as far as 80-90%. There's a unity thread that was started on the topic, and there is also a discord thread where over 1,000 Indies are chatting about what changes google has made, and if this is a bug or an intentional change.

https://forum.unity.com/threads/sudden-drop-in-number-of-daily-installs-on-google-play-store.537467/

In a nutshell, the issue is related to the Similar apps and Recommended for you sections. Google play has seemingly reset or changed those sections to favor large developers. We have also inadvertently learned that these categories drive thousands of installs, and keywords are only a small portion of user acquisition.

It's too soon to tell, but it could be just a new algorithm in progress, and not the final result. I've seen some recovery on some apps today, so it could be that this new algorithm is just propagating, and working. I wouldn't panic over it just yet, but it was a very scary update to see many developers suffering 80% drops in installs as a result of this change.

Glass Frog

Hi @Butterbean, yes @DigiChain and I were discussing this in the "State of Salad" thread as we are also affected.

I have been keeping a close eye on both the Unity and Discord threads over the last few days for any news on updates.

I'm really surprised more Gamesalad devs have not posted about this as it surely has affected more than just three of us.

I've seen about a 90% drop on my most popular apps since their algorithm change.

Japster

@Glass Frog said:
Hi @Butterbean, yes @DigiChain and I were discussing this in the "State of Salad" thread as we are also affected.

......I'm really surprised more Gamesalad devs have not posted about this as it surely has affected more than just three of us.

...mainly as I DREAM about having those higher download figures in the first place guys.... 14 (14!!!) downloads and counting.... after a week+ of being released... trying to get featured, trying to drum up interest, social media, etc... Makes me wonder why I even bother writing games!.... :frowning:

As such, I don't feel qualified to comment/add to this - although I would LOVE any advice on how to even get anywhere near your 'lower' download figures! :frowning:

DigiChain

I've also been following the Unity thread and others closely.

For now my downloads seem to have stabilised and maybe risen a little. A few of my apps have seen the 80% drop, whereas others are only about 50% down (which I guess makes me lucky if you can call it that!)