Does Google "penalize" reskinned apps?

I’ve published a few re-skinned apps in the past and the problem is that my other apps always performed relatively well, while the re-skinned apps never gained any real traction, despite the quality (from 10 USD to 500+ USD source codes).

I wonder, since re-skinning became extremely popular, did Google begin do penalize re-skinned apps? My thinking is that if Google detects dozens of apps/games with the same structure, they penalize them in some way or another, so they remain more or less invisible. Basically, dozens of same apps by different publishers - in Google’s eyes - is nothing more than spam. Why would their app store need 50 versions of the same app with slightly different graphics?

A friend of mine even got his app removed (which he bought on one of the code selling sites) for copyright reasons, despite modifying it heavily (it was a “quotes” app).

I wonder, is this just me being paranoid, or is there something actually affecting the rankings of re-skinned apps? I’d appreciate your thoughts.

I think Google will not do that. But there a big note: don’t connect two Play store account or you will be ban with spam policy.

Well i don’t believe google does that.
Almost all they store system is automated.
I guess you were just unlucky.
I have many apps which were old flash games remade into apps .And i wasn’t alone who bought code of those games.Never was in trouble becouseof that .
Sometimes reskined app gets downloads sometimes doesn’t.

I got copyright strike once :
My app was about kicking people to asses . So i used english slang not to have ass in the name.
And it turn outs where was movie from 80s with a same name . And i got my strike for that.(movie and game was totally unrelated :D)
I learned to do reasearch for a name before publishing :smiley:

I don’t think google will penalize reskin app.

OK, thanks for your opinions, guys! Does anyone here have any success with re-skinned apps, like at least 1000 DL/day?

yeah I don’t think they do

Thanks for asking this bluedot, I was wondering the same thing. I’ve come to think of it this way though- if the code you’re buying was a hit- it probably would not have been made available to you (or me.) Coders are recouping their investment by reselling code on apps they’ve found to be less than promising, after doing their own test of sales. The hope with reskinned apps lies in the possibility of finding that right combination that does make it a hit.

@IAStudio: Yeah, my belief is that if you change absolutely nothing, except for the graphics, the game will not perform well - Google will know this and simply mark it as “spam”.

I think that’s also the reason why Game Academy stopped giving “ready-made” sources and now they are only providing the basic framework, leaving the developer to decide, how to develop the levels, bonuses, game monetization etc. To give you an example: https://www.gameacademy.com/new-logo-new-look-free-source-code-celebrate/ (the code is not available anymore).

I strongly believe google will do not it.

I don’t really think Google will go out and penalize all the reskin apps that’s published. Have a look around the Google Play store - you’ll surely find quite a lot of similar apps on there, even in the top ranks there might be apps or games with the same purpose, but looks different and have different names.

The important part when it comes to reskinning is to create something unique. Take the source code you buy and turn it into something unique and fun - I’m not telling you to create pacman with the source code for tetriz, but I am telling you to add value to your reskin, make it stand out from the competition and people will be sure to take a look at your app, and it might even rise above the competition.

As a last piece of advise, never publish a reskin source code as-is. You will most likely get your account banned. Spend some time, effort and money on the reskin process - gamers and app users love a story, so create a story behind your game, or even a brand new character for your game - who knows, your unique game character might just become the next Ratchet or Jak!

@ghomveld: Yep, that’s what I had in mind - if you publish a re-skin code as-is, there is no chance it will perform well. In the past, you could get some success with as-is codes, but nowadays you need to develop it further. And like you say, the risk of getting an app removed is high. My buddy got one of his re-skinned apps banned, but that was even after he did quite a lot of changes. So the rules of the game are definitely changed and are still changing.

@bluebot: Thanks for the feedback - let me know how your journey goes :slight_smile: