Amazon Developer Console

When you’ve done with all your coding, it is time to release your game. Register an Amazon Developer Account (it’s free) and enter the Developer Console.

I will not cover the whole releasing process on Amazon here, but only the FireTV-related specifics.

You can immediately release the game for the so-called Live app testing, a closed beta. You need to know the Amazon account names of your testers, they will get an activation link and can install the game on their devices.

Skip that. I am serious, it’s not working reliably. Some testers won’t get their invitation mail, some testers get the message, but the game is never installed on their device and some testers even get old, replaced versions installed… So, if you want some friends to test your game, send them your APK file directly and explain how to install it via ADB.

It is very important that you fill your description in the correct masks and use good store image assets. And that’s not easy, because there is no explanation what asset is used on the App Store on the real device. I made some screenshots for you to to compare the Developer Console with the App Store on a FireTV. (Screenshots were made on a German FireTV, but the interesting contents are in English.)

This is the App store category overview.

App store category overview

Users will not see your game’s name before selecting its app icon, so it is important that your app icon is perfect. If they select the icon, the background is changing to your background image and users can read your short description.

If a users hits the center button, the App detail page opens with your short description and background image.

App detail page

Note that the long description is not shown on a FireTV — it is only shown on Amazon’s web interface. That’s why I don’t use it. Here’s my Developer Console configuration for you to compare with the screenshots above.

Developer console description page

Developer console images page

I use Product feature bullets because they are shown on Fire tablets, but not on FireTV.

If you cannot add FireTV image assets, you first need to upload the APK file on the “Binary Files” page and add the six existing FireTV devices to “supported devices”:

Release process

Perhaps you noticed above that I wrote you may get a test report after submitting your game, saying that your submission was declined. When releasing for FireTV, real persons will test your game. According to my game analytics reports, they are testing it around half an hour and are really playing it. I saw levels got cleared by them. The entire process takes about two days, so don’t waste their time and your time with half-baked builds. Do only release if you are sure the game works as intended and every button is reachable with button control.

My experiences with the Amazon testers are good. You get in contact with real humans which sometimes made mistakes, but they really read your messages. One time an older build was tested by them and they reported a bug I knew for sure was fixed before. Another time, it happened that my app was flagged to be only useable with a Game controller. In both cases, opening a support case and telling them to check again solved the problems.

To avoid such problems, I recommend you to leave some testing instructions for the reviewers. You can do so on Developer Console’s “Binary file’s” page. I always state at least the following: “App works with FireTV Remote Control, on touch devices and with game controllers.”

After releasing

After the release, check AFTVnews weekly new apps section and make sure they don’t miss your game. If they like your game and mention it in the posting’s teaser, some thousand downloads are safe. If you are active on Reddit, don’t miss to post on r/firetv — the sub appreciates every developer aiming for their platform.

Conclusion

I hope you find the information in this article valuable. If you do so, please clap — thank you! If you missed some information or have something to add, don’t hesitate and comment.

In the next and last article, I will write about the release process for Google’s Android TV.