Samsung Invites Unity Devs to Take on US$185,000 ‘Tizen App Challenge’
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By Samsung Newsroom
At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Festival of Gaming 2026 from March 9-13 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, developers, technical leaders and industry experts gathered to see how the latest display breakthroughs are reshaping the PC gaming experience.
During the event, Samsung Electronics also showcased its latest Odyssey gaming monitors and technologies at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. Samsung brought together gaming industry leaders, enthusiasts and media to get a firsthand look at the Odyssey gaming monitor lineup and to play some of the hottest titles on PC, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Hell is Us.
▲ GDC 2026 was held in San Francisco. Running throughout the week, the Samsung Odyssey Gaming Lounge became a playground for PC visuals, complete with groundbreaking demos, unscripted reactions and candid conversations about what comes next for advanced gaming displays.
“Samsung has redefined 3D gaming — the technology is so sharp and crisp.”
— Floyd Broadnax, gaming content creator
Developers See What Glasses-Free 3D Can Do for Gameplay
The centerpiece of the showcase was Odyssey 3D. Using advanced eye-tracking and view-mapping technology, the monitor delivers a glasses-free 4K 3D display that adjusts depth in real time as players move in front of the screen. This delivers a completely new, immersive way to experience gameplay.
Developers, media and partners lined up to try the thriller Hell is Us from Rogue Factor in 3D on the 27-inch Odyssey 3D (G90XF), ahead of its public availability on Samsung’s 3D gaming library.
“Samsung has been the leading force for 3D gaming. I play everything from horror to FPS games, and the technology is really going to enhance my experience.”
— Ashley Rodgers, gaming content creator
Hell is Us drew a large crowd, with excited visitors eager to experience the game’s tight corridors, distant silhouettes and small environmental cues in glasses-free 3D. On Odyssey, visitors said it was easier to read where to go and feel the adrenaline and fear of each encounter without losing the game’s sense of mystery.
▲ The immersive details in Hell is Us on Odyssey 3D blew media away. Cronos: The New Dawn showcased a different side of 3D gaming through a launch trailer. The added depth on screen makes every moment feel more immersive and enhances the player’s sense of scale and atmosphere.
▲ Media got a close-up look at Cronos: The New Dawn on Odyssey 3D. “Samsung knows games and the brains of the developers, and that is something hardware companies don’t often know.”
— Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director, Rogue Factor
▲ Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director at Rogue Factor, demonstrated Hell is Us on Odyssey 3D.
Next-Generation Displays Draw Attention From Technical Leaders
HDR10+ GAMING quickly became a talking point in the room. Instead of relying on trial-and-error calibration screens, developers watched the game feed send scene-by-scene information to the monitor so highlights, shadows and color stayed closer to what they see in their own builds.
▲ Samsung’s EVP of Customer Experience Kevin Lee welcomes media to the Odyssey Gaming Lounge at GDC 2026. Developers and media also gravitated toward the 32‑inch Odyssey G8 6K (G80HS), testing how higher resolution affects UI and environmental detail. In busy scenes with dense 4K UHD elements, the extra pixels helped keep fine elements sharp without forcing changes to the game’s core art style.
On the 27-inch Odyssey G6 (G60H), the focus shifted to speed. With a 1,040Hz refresh rate, visitors looked at how fast camera pans, aiming and rapid inputs felt onscreen, and what that might mean for future competitive and high-performance titles.
“With our proven track record in hardware and software innovation, we’re partnering with global gaming studios to chart a clear path forward on compatibility. Ultimately, that’s about delivering an exceptional gaming experience our customers deserve.”
— Kevin Lee, EVP of Customer Experience, Visual Display (VD) Business, Samsung Electronics
A separate roundtable brought together leaders from across the industry, including Jakub Knapik, VP of Art and Global Art Director of CD Projekt RED; Yves Bordeleau, Founder and Head of Studio at Rogue Factor; Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director at Rogue Factor; Piotr Babieno, Founder and CEO of Bloober Team; and Samsung’s EVP of Customer Experience Kevin Lee.
▲ Panelists Yves Bordeleau, Founder and Head of Studio at Rogue Factor, Jonathan Jacques-Belletête, Creative Director at Rogue Factor, Kevin Lee, Samsung’s EVP of Customer Experience, Jakub Knapik, VP of Art and Global Art Director of CD Projekt RED, and Piotr Babieno, Founder and CEO of Bloober Team, discuss innovations in gaming. Up-and-coming studios spoke about using new display technology to experiment and take creative risks, while larger publishers focused on setting standards that can scale across multiple genres and platforms. The group compared how they roll out new display features across engines and franchises — from integrating HDR10+ GAMING and 3D to deciding which features make sense for competitive games versus story-driven titles.
▲ Jakub Knapik, VP of Art and Global Art Director of CD Projekt RED, showcases Cyberpunk 2077 on the 32-inch Odyssey G8 6K. “I honestly think HDR10+ is a major milestone in color reproduction, one that we’ve all been waiting for. Thanks to it, players will be able to experience our true artistic intent — not to mention a far more immersive high dynamic range.”
— Jakub Knapik, VP of Art and Global Art Director, CD Projekt RED
For industry leaders, seeing their own content firsthand on Odyssey gaming monitors turned abstract specs into real trade-offs they could see and judge on screen. Samsung’s GDC 2026 showcase made it easier to evaluate which combinations of glasses-free 3D, HDR10+ GAMING, resolution and refresh rate will matter most for the games developers are building now.
Samsung’s gaming momentum shows no signs of slowing. With Hell is Us and Cronos: The New Dawn joining a library that already spans 60+ titles, including The First Berserker: Khazan, Stellar Blade and Lies of P: Overture, the company is on track to double its 3D game portfolio to over 120 titles by the end of 2026.
▲ Samsung Odyssey 3D was front and center at the Game Developers Concert on March 10. As developer partnerships deepen and consumer interest accelerates, Samsung is positioned to lead next-generation gaming through its comprehensive suite of monitor technologies, from 3D depth and dynamic HDR10+ GAMING to high-resolution 6K capability.
▲ Members of the media and content creators enjoy the Samsung Odyssey Gaming Lounge. View the full article
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By Samsung Newsroom
Samsung Electronics today shared its plan to expand support for glasses-free 3D gameplay on the Samsung Odyssey 3D gaming monitor. At GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 in San Francisco, Samsung will spotlight Hell Is Us and Cronos: The New Dawn as part of its expanding 3D gaming ecosystem, demonstrating how leading titles are embracing immersive display without the need for special glasses.
“The Odyssey 3D is designed for gamers who want to experience their hobby in a way that feels like they’re completely embedded in the action,” said Kevin Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics. “Through partnerships with leading gaming studios, we are committed to creating an ecosystem of top-tier titles, making great games extraordinary.”
Gaming’s Most Acclaimed Titles Become Fully Immersive 3D Experiences — Expanding Partnerships With Leading Developers
Hell Is Us, the critically acclaimed action-adventure horror game from Rogue Factor, will arrive on Samsung’s Odyssey 3D ecosystem in March, becoming a part of the first wave of newly added 3D-enabled titles for 2026.
Cronos: The New Dawn, developed by Bloober Team, will join this expanding 3D gaming library by the end of the year. This survival horror game, which has received generally positive reviews from critics, will provide an immersive gaming experience by integrating with the 3D technology.
Both titles will be playable in 3D through the Samsung Odyssey 3D Hub, the company’s dedicated 3D content platform, which already supports over 60 titles.
In addition to 3D gaming technology, Samsung offers HDR10+ GAMING, which delivers optimized HDR performance to each game by automatically analyzing each scene and frame, thereby enhancing immersion. Since 2022, the company has integrated HDR10+ GAMING into its Odyssey gaming monitors and TVs featuring refresh rates above 120Hz.
Samsung has partnered with top video game studio CD PROJEKT RED as part of its commitment to advancing display technology alongside leading developers.
This collaboration will explore how technology can be advanced to increase the immersion of video games for players, and Samsung is already working with CD PROJEKT RED to integrate HDR10+ GAMING into its hit video game Cyberpunk 2077.
Additionally, Samsung announced the expansion of its HDR10+ GAMING partnership with Pearl Abyss. HDR10+ GAMING will be featured in Pearl Abyss’s upcoming open-world action-adventure game Crimson Desert, set to launch in March, ensuring gamers enjoy a premium HDR experience.
The Full Odyssey Experience Comes to GDC 2026
At GDC 2026, Samsung will host hands-on demo sessions for journalists and industry experts to gain an up-close look at its latest Odyssey monitors and an opportunity to play Hell Is Us in 3D before the public.
The demo sessions will feature Samsung’s Odyssey gaming monitor lineup:
27-inch Odyssey 3D (G90XF model): Glasses-free 3D gaming with advanced eye-tracking that delivers natural-looking depth and makes action jump off the screen. This glasses-free 3D gaming monitor will expand the lineup with the launch of a 32-inch model by the end of the year. 32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 (G80SH model): Stunning 4K QD-OLED at 240Hz with exceptional color and contrast, protected by Samsung OLED Safeguard+ technology. 32-inch Odyssey G8 (G80HS model): The industry’s first 6K gaming monitor, delivering native 165Hz performance with Dual Mode support up to 330Hz in 3K. This model also offers VESA-certified DisplayPort 2.1 (DP 2.1) connectivity, which supports smooth gaming and efficient video playback. 27-inch Odyssey G6 (G60H model): The world’s first 1,040Hz gaming monitor with Dual Mode, delivering esports-level motion clarity and responsiveness.
Odyssey 3D: Glasses-Free Gaming at Its Peak
While previous 3D approaches required either special glasses or sacrificed performance, the Odyssey 3D is a groundbreaking gaming monitor that delivers stunning 3D gameplay without compromise. Using advanced Eye Tracking and View Mapping technology, the monitor requires no glasses. It adjusts the 3D depth of the scene in response to the viewer’s position in real time, ensuring an optimized 3D effect.
Combined with a 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms GtG response time, the Odyssey 3D delivers smooth, responsive gameplay, resulting in a 3D effect that holds even during fast camera movement, gunfights and high-speed traversal — without the eye strain traditionally associated with 3D displays.
The addition of Hell Is Us and Cronos: The New Dawn expands Samsung’s 3D gaming library, which currently supports more than 60 titles — including The First Berserker: Khazan, Stellar Blade, Lies of P: Overture and MONGIL: STAR DIVE. With these additions, the company’s selection of 3D games is on track to reach over 120 titles by the end of 2026.
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By Samsung Newsroom
At its core, television is about picture quality. As the world’s No. 1 TV brand, Samsung Electronics has consistently extended its lead in this field, securing an unrivaled position in the pursuit of excellence.
The mark of true leadership, however, lies not only in picture quality itself but also in the overall viewing experience. Samsung’s 2025 OLEDs embody this with Glare-Free1 and AI gamma-adjusting technologies, innovations that minimize distractions to deliver an optimal viewing experience. To uncover the details behind the TVs’ vivid visuals, Samsung Newsroom spoke with Mirae Shin from the Picture Quality Lab of Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display (VD) Business.
▲ Mirae Shin with the new 2025 Samsung S95F OLED TV
Enhanced Glare-Free Technology: Bright or Dark, Always Clear
OLED is renowned for delivering perfect blacks, vivid colors and ultra-fast response times — strengths made possible by its self-emissive design, which allows each pixel to generate color or block light without the need for a backlight.
Yet the high-gloss finishes often used to maximize these strengths are inevitably vulnerable to reflections from external light sources. While a theater-like setting that blocks all ambient light would be ideal, the viewing environments of TV users are rarely perfect. Sunlight streaming through windows during the day or the glow of living room lights in the evening can reflect off the screen, making it difficult to truly appreciate what’s on-screen.
This is where Glare-Free technology makes the difference. By effectively reducing reflections and glare, it allows viewers to experience OLED to the fullest in any environment.
Select 2025 Samsung OLEDs deliver an impressive Glare-Free performance with a specially engineered low-reflection layer that disperses external light and reduces internal light-scattering without distorting picture quality. Compared to previous models, it reduces reflections by more than 25%.2 This performance has also been verified by UL Solutions, a global certification organization.3
“This year’s enhanced Glare-Free technology significantly lowers reflection rates and minimizes screen distortion, ultimately enabling the set to deliver outstanding picture quality in both bright and dark environments,” Shin explained. In practice, this means viewers don’t have to worry about washed-out colors caused by sunlight when watching movies or diminished details in dark game scenes under ambient lighting.
▲ Comparison: OLEDs with/without Glare-Free technology in a bright viewing environment. Select 2025 Samsung OLEDs minimize viewing interference from external light sources by leveraging a special low-reflection layer.
Bringing Hidden Details to Light With AI Gamma Technology
Samsung hasn’t overlooked software innovations, either. While Glare-Free technology provides a physical solution to reduce interference from external light sources, AI gamma adjustment adds another layer of refinement. 2025 Samsung OLEDs optimize content by using AI to adjust gamma values, which refer to numerical measurements that define the correlation between the brightness of an input signal and the luminance displayed on-screen.
Human vision is highly sensitive to subtle contrast differences in dark areas, but responds less acutely in bright areas. Gamma adjustment compensates for this, making contrast appear more natural to the eye. When effectively implemented, it allows viewers to perceive fine details even in shadowed scenes, all while delivering more vivid and lifelike visuals.
▲ 2025 Samsung OLED TVs offer an AI-based gamma adjustment feature to optimize each scene by content and ambient light.
“Our enhanced gamma-adjusting technology uses AI algorithms to analyze the average brightness of each scene in real time, then automatically adjusts the gamma value according to the surrounding lighting conditions,” Shin explained, outlining the fundamental principles behind the technology.
“For example, when watching dark content in a bright living room, the gamma value is adjusted so that shadowed areas on screen are brightened just enough to preserve detail, preventing them from being obscured by ambient light,” she said. “Conversely, when watching bright content in a dark room, the gamma value is adjusted to minimize glare in bright on-screen areas and enhance contrast.”
“When the environment suddenly shifts from dark to bright — like when the lights come on in a movie theater — shadowed areas on screen can temporarily disappear from view. Again, adjusting the gamma value in such cases makes those dark areas visible again. The key is to keep the viewing experience consistent by providing adaptive gamma values,” she added.
Brightness, Contrast and High Refresh Rates for the Ultimate Viewing Experience
Besides Glare-Free technology and AI gamma adjustment technology, the 2025 OLEDs also incorporate a range of signature Samsung innovations that maximize the strengths of OLED panels. For example, upgraded panels are brighter by about 30%4 compared to previous models. “The brighter the TV display, the more accurately it can convey a filmmaker or content creator’s original intent,” said Shin.
Contrast ratio — the core strength of OLED — has also been enhanced. “OLED panels are made of self-emissive elements, allowing each RGB5 pixel to be switched on or off individually,” Shin explained. “This means that when black content is displayed, each pixel can be entirely dimmed to produce perfect blacks.” The contrast between deep blacks and increased brightness heightens immersion not only in movies and dramas, but also in games with numerous dark scenes.
▲ Shin proudly notes that the new S95F OLED TV delivers unmatched immersion with enhanced brightness, perfect blacks and high refresh rates.
“Samsung’s 2025 OLED TVs are an attractive choice not only for content viewers but also for gamers,” Shin continued. “Glare-Free technology allows dark scenes in games to be enjoyed in crisp detail, even in bright environments. On top of that, the TV is the industry’s first to support a 165Hz refresh rate, delivering smooth, lifelike gameplay without any breaks in the action,” she added. “OLED’s strengths lie in pixel-level dimming and ultra-fast response times. By combining those with a 165Hz refresh rate, we’ve unlocked the full potential of OLED panels.”
Equipped with cutting-edge technologies, the 2025 Samsung OLEDs deliver the ultimate immersive viewing experience. With these new models, Samsung has once again proven its unrivaled leadership in OLED technology — not only advancing the state of the art, but pushing the very boundaries of what a TV can be.
1 Applicable only to models featuring Glare-Free technology
2 Based on internal studies
3 UL’s verification certifies glare-free performance by evaluating the product against the Unified Glare Rating (UGR) test standards set by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) (Reflected glare UGR ≤ 10, discomfort glare UGR ≤ 22, disability glare UGR ≤ 34).
4 Based on internal studies
5 Red, green, blue
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By Samsung Newsroom
April 2025 New & Updated Features of Samsung Health Accessory SDK
Introducing the newly updated Samsung Health Accessory SDK.
The innovative bridge for integrating Samsung Health with partner device data, the Accessory SDK has been enhanced with new features such as Cycling Power Sensor, Cycling Speed & Cadence Sensor, and Thermometer. Existing features have also been improved.
The SDK consolidates scattered user health data from various devices into Samsung Health, enabling more precise, data-driven health management and ultimately delivering greater value to our users. Enrich user health journey with the new and improved Accessory SDK.
Learn More Samsung IAP Unity Plugin v6.3.0
Samsung In-App Purchase (IAP) supports not only the Android SDK, but also the Unity Plugin for applications built with Unity.
On March 19, the Unity Plugin with the latest version of Samsung IAP 6.3.0 was released, and the programming guide was also partially updated for developer convenience.
This update has added new APIs for checking subscription promotion eligibility and changing subscription plans. It is also possible to check price changes for active subscriptions, enabling more flexible and precise subscription management. Learn more on the Samsung Developer Portal.
Learn More Your First Step Towards Becoming a Samsung Wallet Partner
Are you considering a partnership with Samsung Wallet? Check out the onboarding video and blog content created by the Samsung Wallet team that provide clear and easy guidance for the partner onboarding process. The Samsung Wallet team is always committed to communicating with and growing alongside more partners. Get familiar with the onboarding process on the blog today and register as a Samsung Wallet partner!
Learn More Samsung Electronics Unveils Latest SmartThings Update
SmartThings strives to make the platform more valuable for our end users, partners, and developers, with our goal to empower users to create exceptional experiences. In Q1 2025, Samsung SmartThings launched key updates to enhance home AI. The highlight of this quarter is the integration of SmartThings with Samsung Health, which is designed to improve users' sleep environments while enabling more personalized automation experiences. The update also expands Calm Onboarding to support a wider range of devices and adds compatibility with the Matter 1.4 standard.
Learn more about all the updates here. Tutorial: How to Apply LUT Profiles to Samsung Log Videos in Premiere Pro
Did you know that you can create cinematic videos like a pro with just a Galaxy device, without professional equipment? Samsung Log is a new camera application feature introduced with the Galaxy S25 series. It brings the power of log filming, once exclusive to professional cameras, to your smartphone. Log is a flat, desaturated color profile that preserves more image data, optimizing it for color correction and post-production. Filming in Log profiling is favored by professional videographers for its flexibility in color grading, allowing them to bring out more cinematic and visually appealing videos.
Check out the tutorial video to learn how you can easily color grade your Samsung Log video clips in Adobe Premiere Pro using LUT profiles created by Samsung. Get professional-looking results with just a few clicks! Configuring Instant Server Notifications for Samsung IAP
Samsung IAP's Instant Server Notification (ISN) service ensures developers stay informed about user actions. When users trigger events such as completing in-app purchases or modifying subscriptions, the developer receives notifications with the details of the event, enabling them to track and manage user transactions more effectively. It's a seamless way to ensure developers stay up to date.
Check out our blog post to find out how to configure a server to manage the supported events sent by the Samsung IAP ISN service.
Learn More Evaluation of Wearable Head BCG for PTT Measurement in Blood Pressure Intervention
Managing hypertension and cardiovascular risk demands frequent and accurate blood pressure monitoring. Traditional cuff-based methods, however, have limitations in their portability and real-time measuring aspect.
Samsung Research America has proposed a new system that enables continuous blood pressure tracking using an over-the-ear wireless wearable device. The system uses sensors to capture both ballistocardiography (BCG) and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals, and calculate the pulse transit time (PTT) by combining these two bio-signals. Learn about the potential of a future healthcare solution that lets you track blood pressure with everyday wireless earphones on the Samsung Research blog.
Learn More CheapNVS: Real-Time On-Device Novel View Synthesis for Mobile Applications
Novel View Synthesis (NVS) is an innovative technology as it lets you reconstruct a scene from various perspectives. However, as NVS requires a lot of computation, it relies heavily on high-performance GPUs or cloud servers. Accordingly, it has limitations related to the cost, and is difficult to apply in real time on mobile devices.
In order to tackle these issues, Samsung R&D Institute United Kingdom presents CheapNVS, a lightweight NVS system based on neural networks that you can run even on your smartphone. This model takes in a single input image and a new camera pose, and then leverages hardware-friendly network design to both perform image warping and then inpainting to fill in the occluded areas. With its novel parallelizable NVS formulation, it manages to speed-up execution while avoiding the use of costly structures such as multi-plane images. CheapNVS, implementable without complex 3D modeling or expensive computations, is a next-generation technology that can be used for a variety of mobile applications including video calls and 3D image conversion. It is more lightweight than conventional methods by a factor of 20 or more, running quickly and efficiently even on mobile SoC environments. Learn more about this innovative technology on the Samsung Research blog.
Learn More View the full blog at its source
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By Samsung Newsroom
Play Asset Delivery (PAD) enhances the gaming experience by offering the advantages of application bundles, which are packages that group all necessary resources for efficient delivery, making downloads faster and installations smoother for players. Android App Bundles (AAB) are a type of PAD, the modern way of building and publishing Android applications and games in Google Play Store. The Samsung Galaxy Store recently introduced the option to upload AAB files to Galaxy Store Seller Portal. However, AABs have some Google Play Store proprietary features that might make a game non-functional when it is uploaded to Galaxy Store. This article explores ways in which you can utilize PAD while ensuring your game remains compatible with Galaxy Store.
Purpose
PAD is a very useful feature that helps reduce the game's initial download size, as it downloads various game assets at runtime. There are multiple ways of using this feature in Unity games. However, certain PAD configurations may cause the game's assets to fail to load when the game is published to Galaxy Store. In this tutorial, you learn how to properly configure PAD and adjust Unity configurations accordingly, so your game can be successfully published to Galaxy Store.
In the following sections, PAD functionalities are implemented in an existing coin collector game (referenced in the article Integrating Samsung IAP in Your Unity Game), demonstrating how to download and apply a new set of materials for the floor tile at runtime. Here, you also learn about the adjustments that are necessary for successfully publishing a game using PAD to Galaxy Store.
Prerequisites
To follow this tutorial, ensure that your setup has the following:
Unity Game Engine version 2023.2 or above The "Addressables for Android" package for Unity A Google Play developer account A Galaxy Store Seller Portal commercial seller account A game created using Unity where you want to add the PAD features To implement PAD in your Unity game, you can use the "Addressables for Android" package. This is the easiest and most convenient way to implement PAD in a game. This package is only supported on Unity version 2023.2 or above. If your game is built using a previous version of Unity, please migrate your game to the Unity 2023.2 version first.
PAD implementation considerations
There are multitude of ways to implement PAD in games built with the Unity engine. However, the most common method for implementing PAD restricts the game to being publishable exclusively on the Google Play Store and does not provide any easy method of disabling PAD for uploading these games into other storefronts. For the best experience with your game, it is recommended to use PAD to bundle all game assets together. This approach ensures that all necessary resources are downloaded right away, preventing any missing assets which could affect the user experience.
There are three types of asset packs that can be configured while using PAD: "Install Time," "Fast Follow," and "On Demand." Games that use the "Install Time" asset packs can be uploaded to Galaxy Store without any issues as these assets are installed together with the game and do not require any separate downloads. When Galaxy Store generates a universal APK from AAB files, the "Install Time" assets are directly included in the APK.
Games that are designed to only use "On Demand" or "Fast Follow" asset packs do not allow downloading their assets when they are uploaded to a storefront that is not the Google Play Store. Thus, for any game that uses either the "On Demand" or "Fast Follow" asset pack delivery method, PAD must be disabled in order to upload the game to Galaxy Store.
To ensure that your game's PAD functionality can be easily switched off and your game is successfully uploaded to Galaxy Store, the "Addressables for Android" package must be used to implement PAD.
This article assumes that you have implemented PAD in your game using the "Addressables for Android" package and that you have also configured these two assets with the following configurations:
A "Grass" asset pack set to be downloaded as a "Fast Follow" asset A "Ground" asset pack set to be downloaded as an "On Demand" asset In the next sections, you learn how to integrate PAD into your existing Unity game using the "Addressables for Android" package so that you can easily publish your game to Galaxy Store with minimal changes.
Basic steps to implement PAD in your Unity game
In this section, you learn how to configure your assets using PAD functionality that keeps your game compatible with both Google Play and Galaxy Store.
In Unity, configure "Build Settings" to run the game on Android and generate the AAB: Click File > Build Settings and then select the Android tab. On the "Android" tab, select the Build App Bundle (Google Play) checkbox.
Figure 1: Enabling the "Build App Bundle" option
Install the "Addressables for Android" package from the Unity Package Manager. This additionally installs the "Addressables" package as a dependency. Initialize PAD. Go to Window > Asset Management > Addressables and click Init Play Asset Delivery.
Figure 2: "Init Play Asset Delivery" option
Configure the "Addressables Groups" for assets: Select Window > Asset Management > Addressables > Groups. Click New > Play Asset Delivery Assets. This creates a new group. Enter a descriptive name. For the purposes of this walkthrough, name one group "Grass" and then create another group and name it "Ground."
Figure 3: Creating asset groups
Assign the assets to the Addressables Group: Select the assets you want to assign to an Addressables Group and in the "Inspector" dialog box, tick the Addressable checkbox. The asset is converted into an "Addressable" and assigned to the default Addressables Group.
Figure 4: Converting assets into Addressables
Click the folder name in the "Group" field. In the example, the folder name is "Grass."
Drag and drop the asset from the default group to the group of your choosing. For the purposes of this exercise, assign the grass material related assets to the "Grass" Addressables Group and ground material related assets to the "Ground" Addressables Group.
Figure 5: Assigning assets to groups
Configure the "Play Asset Delivery" schema for these addressable groups to add the PAD functionality to your game: Select any of the top-level Asset Group names in the "Addressables Groups" window to open the inspector window for that group. Scroll down in the "Inspector" window until you find the "Play Asset Delivery" schema. From the "Delivery Type" dropdown list, select Install Time, Fast Follow, or On Demand, based on your requirements. There is a demonstration below on how the game might behave on Galaxy Store when you choose the option "On Demand." For more information, see the Testing your PAD Enabled Game on the Play Store and Galaxy Store section.
Figure 6: Selecting the delivery type for asset groups
In the "Addressables Groups" dialog box, select Build > New Build > Play Asset Delivery. Now, the game's addressable-asset configuration is complete. Each asset assigned to an addressable group is packed into an asset pack for that group and the asset pack can be downloaded separately using PAD. Note that asset packs can only be downloaded separately from the Play Store if their delivery type is "On Demand" or "Fast Follow."
Loading and using the addressable assets with AssetReference
This section provides a script which details how to load the addressable assets that were implemented with PAD in the earlier sections. Your game is set up to load the addressable assets efficiently. If an asset has not been downloaded yet, the game automatically attempts to download it as an "On Demand" asset using PAD before it loads into the game.
To complete this setup, use the AssetReference type in your game. This feature enables you to manage and edit addressable assets dynamically at runtime, which gives you more flexibility and control over the assets that your game uses.
To use two game addressable assets in your script, follow these steps:
Create two AssetReference instances for the floor types (grass and ground) that you added in the previous section. Add the SerializeField attribute to these AssetReference instances. This enables setting up the assets directly from the Unity editor: [SerializeField] AssetReference Grass_mat; [SerializeField] AssetReference Ground_mat; In the Unity editor, drag and drop the grass and ground assets into the fields in the GameObject script section. Now the AssetReferences specifically reference these two assets during runtime.
Downloading assets during runtime is necessary for PAD. Use AsyncOperations to load these assets:
Grass_mat.LoadAssetAsync<Material>().Completed += OnGrassAssetLoaded; Ground_mat.LoadAssetAsync<Material>().Completed += OnGroundAssetLoaded; The OnGrassAssetLoaded and OnGroundAssetLoaded handler functions are defined to use the loaded assets. The LoadAssetAsync method passes the asset using an AsyncOperationHandle, and from there you can access the asset itself using the AsyncOperationHandle.Result parameter.
In this game, we are using PAD to load the grass and ground assets. Once they are successfully loaded, you can change the floor tile material using the following handler functions.
In this example, after loading the grass and ground assets, you apply the material change to all the floor tiles in the level:
void OnGroundAssetLoaded(AsyncOperationHandle<Material> handle) { groundMaterial = handle.Result; foreach (GameObject prefab in floorPrefabs) { prefab.GetComponent<MeshRenderer>().material = groundMaterial; } } Save the script and go back to the Unity editor. The new materials are loaded and applied to the floor tiles in the level.
Testing your PAD-enabled game on the Play Store and Galaxy Store
The game configuration for using addressable assets and PAD is complete. Before publishing your game, consider whether to use the "Split Application Binary" option.
On the Android Player settings, expand "Publishing Settings," and scroll down to the "Split Application Binary" checkbox. This checkbox decides how Unity handles packaging when building the game. If this checkbox is checked, Unity splits the base game files from the asset files when building the AAB and enables you to configure each PAD feature in your game. In the images below, you can see what happens when you choose this option. If this option is unchecked, Unity always generates a singular archive file and disables PAD. This is the safest option for uploading your game to Galaxy Store, if your PAD configuration is using options that are not supported by Galaxy Store.
Figure 7: "Split Application Binary" option
To enable PAD, check the "Split Application Binary" option Build the game and upload the generated AAB file to both the Play Store and Galaxy Store to check how the game behaves in both stores. If the game assets load correctly in both stores, the PAD configuration was done correctly. Below is an example of what might happen if "On Demand" configuration is used instead.
When the game is downloaded from the Play Store, Unity automatically downloads the "On Demand" assets. A notification for an "Additional file download" appears during the download process:
Figure 8: Additional file download notification
Once the download is complete, the downloaded asset is loaded in your game, replacing the previous assets. In this example game case, the old ground and grass materials are changed to the new textures configured in the previous section.
Figure 9: Assets updated in the game
However, when the same game AAB file is uploaded to Galaxy Store and a user downloads it from this store, the PAD assets are not downloaded. Thus, when the game tries to use these assets, they cannot be loaded into the game's memory and glitches might appear.
While additional error checking can be done to avoid these glitches, the functionalities which require PAD assets still cannot be used. Internally, the game checks the installation source before trying to download the PAD assets and throws an error if the game is not installed from the Play Store.
Figure 10: Issues might occur if a PAD-enabled game is uploaded to Galaxy Store
Making the game compatible with Galaxy Store
To upload your game to Galaxy Store, you can adjust the asset handling to be compatible with Galaxy Store. The best way to do this is by bundling the assets together with the base game, as explained in the previous sections.
This method is highly recommended. This ensures that the required assets are always available with the game, as well as allowing you to change the assets during runtime, if necessary. Though this can increase the game download size and require you to upload a separate AAB file to Galaxy Store, the process ensures that the assets are always available with the game for full feature parity across all storefronts.
To make your game build compatible with all storefronts, choose one of the following approaches.
Option 1: Uncheck the "Split Application Binary" checkbox
Go to Build Settings > Player Settings > Publishing Settings and uncheck the Split Application Binary checkbox. When you then compile the game, the new AAB file is compatible with Galaxy Store and all the game's functionalities remain intact.
Figure 11: "Split Application Binary" unchecked option.
With this option, the assets are packaged together with the game and no separate download is required.
Option 2: Change delivery type to "Install Time"
If you want to keep using PAD, you can achieve compatibility by changing all addressable asset groups' delivery type to "Install Time." Keep in mind that when choosing this option, all assets need to be changed to "Install Time" one by one, while the previous one is a one-click process. Unlike "On Demand" and "Fast Follow" asset packs, "Install Time" asset packs are included in the universal APK. Thus, the assets are downloaded together with the game and work as intended without causing errors.
From the user's perspective, the main difference between "Install Time" and other PAD options is whether the assets are downloaded when the game is installed or later during gameplay. The initial download size is larger when the assets are packaged together with the game, but on the other hand, the user will not need to wait for the assets to download later during gameplay. This enables offline gameplay as well.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, you have learned how to configure a Unity game with PAD so that it can easily be published to Galaxy Store without requiring massive changes or breaking any compatibility. For more information, check out the "Addressables for Android" package documentation page Build content for Play Asset Delivery. If you have any feedback or questions, reach out to us in the Samsung Developers Forum.
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