Google Authentication and Google Play Games Authentication Separated

To comply with the Google Play Games Guide for PC and to accommodate Google’s next-generation Play ID, Google authentication and Google Play Games authentication were separated (implemented in SDKv4.21.0).
Only titles that were registered in the App Center prior to Jun 7th, 2023 are impacted; new registrations are not.

Common Modifications

It was necessary to change the login IdP settings of the App Center and add legacy support settings due to the separation of Google authentication and Google Play Games authentication. In SDKv4.21.0, ‘Sign in with Google Play’ operates as an implicit login when legacy support is marked as ‘Disabled’.

Legacy Support Added

Menu Location: Hive Console > App Center > Game Management > Game List > Hive Product Settings > Legacy Support [Check]

Login IdP Settings Changed

In the App Center, ‘Sign in with Google’ and ‘Sign in with Google Play’ are separated from ‘Sign in with Google/Google Play‘ set in the signin tab for each App ID.

The current game App ID login setting has been changed from ‘Sign in with Google/Google Play’ to ‘Sign in with Google’. If the legacy support is marked as ‘Enabled,’ even if the login setting is changed, the icon exposed to the IdP during explicit login remains as ‘Sign in with Google Play,’ matching the sync status within the in-game profile.

When registering ‘Sign in with Google Play,’ you must register the Client ID and Client Secret in the App Center. Register the Redirect URI in the Google Console.
The login settings can be checked at the App Center menu below.

Menu Location: Hive Console > App Center > Manage AppID > List of AppIDs > Login [Check]

Modifications

Games Using Google Play Games for PC

The following modifications must be made to games that were registered before Jun. 7th, 2023 and use or intend to use Google Play Games (GPG) for PC.

Google Play Games for PC explains that “Your game should be automatically saved with your Play Games Services ID without requiring you to select any buttons. Gameplay should be activated without the need to manually log in to any account.”

You must update the SDK version to v4.21.0 and change legacy support from “Enabled” to “Disabled.”
In the login settings of the App Center, you must select both ‘Sign in with Google’ and ‘Sign in with Google Play’. In addition, the game must show ‘Google sync’ and ‘Google Play sync’ as IdP sync in the in-game profile.
If the ‘Sign in with Google’ button is set in the App Center login settings, the explicit login button will change from ‘Sign in with Google Play’ to ‘Sign in with Google’ when legacy support is changed from ‘Enabled’ to ‘Disabled’. Change the App Center settings while the game is being updated to avoid user confusion.
The Implicit Sign-in changes from ‘Sign in with Google’ to ‘Sign in with Google Play’ when Legacy Support is changed from ‘Enabled’ to ‘Disabled’.
When legacy support is changed from ‘Enabled’ to ‘Disabled,’ Google authentication and Google Play authentication must be separated for existing logged in users, so the IdP linkage indicator must be displayed in the game for both Google linkage and Google Play linkage. In this case, when separating ‘Google Play linkage’ and ‘Google linkage’ in the game, for users who had previously linked multiple Google accounts from a single device (primary/sub-accounts), the Google Play account will be linked to the most recently signed in Google account, following the ‘Recent Account Recall‘ policy outlined in the recommended documentation for linking Google Play Games services with existing ID solutions.
- For example, if a user who alternates between playing with two Google accounts, ‘aaa@gmail.com’ as the primary account and ‘bbb@gmail.com’ as the secondary account on one device is most recently signed in with the ‘aaa@gmail.com’ account, when legacy support changes from ‘Enabled’ to ‘Disabled’ (separating Google authentication and Google Play authentication), the Google (aaa@gmail.com) account and the Google Play account will be separately shown in the game, but only the Google linkage account (bbb@gmail.com) will be displayed.
As Google authentication and Google Play authentication have been separated, new users who select ‘Sign in with Google Play’ when signing in with Google in Crossplay will create a new account.