Manifest Configuration for AR Game Publishing on Google Play and App Store

tags: [vr-ar]

Manifest setup for AR game publishing in Google Play and App Store

AR app is not regular mobile app. Manifest for Google Play and Info.plist for App Store contain AR-specific keys without which app either fails review or crashes at user's startup if ARCore/ARKit unsupported or uninitialized.

AndroidManifest.xml for ARCore: required and optional modes

Google Play distinguishes two AR dependency modes: required and optional. Determined via <meta-data> in manifest:

<meta-data android:name="com.google.ar.core" android:value="required"/>

At required Google Play auto-hides app on devices where ARCore unsupported, installs ARCore Services automatically at app installation. At optional — app available to everyone, but code must check AR availability before session init via ArCoreApk.getInstance().checkAvailability().

Typical error: set required but forgot camera feature filter:

<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.ar" android:required="true"/>

Without this line app installs on tablets without needed camera, ARCore won't launch, user gets crash on session.resume() with CameraNotAvailableException.

If app uses Depth API (ARCore Depth), need separate <meta-data> with com.google.ar.core.depth set to required or optional. Depth only works on specific models — check ARCore docs; not marking optional on unsupported devices, app crashes on depth mode activation with UNAVAILABLE_DEVICE_NOT_COMPATIBLE.

Info.plist for ARKit: NSUsageDescription and capabilities

iOS App Store requires explicit camera usage description in Info.plist:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>Camera used for augmented reality display</string>

Wording matters: App Store Review Guidelines require specific reason why camera needed. "For AR" — accepted. "For app features" — potential rejection cause.

For apps using ARWorldTrackingConfiguration with frameSemantics (People Occlusion, Body Detection), add ARBodyTrackingConfiguration capability. If using LiDAR (Scene Reconstruction) — add UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities with arkit and ensure minimum iOS 13.0+.

Location in AR: if app places objects by GPS coordinates (geo AR), need NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription and potentially NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription. App Store rejects apps requesting always-location without clear need.

Unity AR Foundation: what auto-generates, what to add manually

AR Foundation auto-adds part of required keys to manifest via XR Plug-in Management. Not everything. Depth API capabilities, specific usage descriptions, custom permissions — edit manually in Assets/Plugins/Android/AndroidManifest.xml (Android) or via Xcode Post-Process Script (iOS).

For iOS convenient to use UnityEditor.iOS.Xcode.PlistDocument in PostProcessBuild script — programmatically adds needed keys after Xcode project generation, no risk losing changes on rebuild.

Real project problem example: AR Foundation 5.x with ARKit Face Tracking auto-adds NSFaceIDUsageDescription even if Face Tracking unused in project. App Store Review notes as mismatch to declared functions. Solution — explicitly disable Face Tracking in XR Plug-in Management if not needed.

Setup process

Audit current manifests, identify requirement mismatches with current ARCore and ARKit versions. Configure dependencies (required/optional), permissions, usage descriptions. Test on different device classes — including devices without AR support. Prepare final manifests for submission.

Cost calculated individually after project analysis.