Got Google Play Production Access After 14-Day Closed Testing. Should I Promote the Existing Release or Create a New One?
Hi everyone,
I'm publishing my first Android app and I'm a little confused about what to do after getting Production access.
I completed the required 14-day Closed Testing, then applied for Google Play Production access. After around 2–3 days, Google approved it and my Play Console now says:
“Congratulations! Your app has been granted Google Play production access.”
Now my dashboard gives me three options:
- Open Testing
- Pre-registration
- Create and publish a Production release
Each option has its own set of tasks.
What is confusing me is that under Production it asks me to “Create a new release.”
I already uploaded an AAB/version while doing Closed Testing, and that is the version that was tested for the full 14 days.
So my questions are:
- Is Open Testing required, or can I go directly from the completed Closed Test to Production?
- Should I promote/use the same release that was used in Closed Testing for Production?
- If Production says “Create a new release,” does that mean I actually need to generate a new AAB with a higher version/version code?
- Or can I simply use the already uploaded Closed Testing bundle for my first Production release?
- What is the recommended/safest approach for a first Play Store launch after Production access has been granted?
I've attached screenshots of my current Play Console status.
I'd really appreciate guidance from anyone who has recently gone through this process. Thanks!