Google Play release strategies: Rollout and Staged Rollout

In Google Play, a rollout (update distribution) is the mechanism that controls how an update reaches users.

Rollout is especially important for Production releases, where a mistake can:

• cause widespread crashes
• hurt your app rating
• trigger negative reviews
• damage Google’s trust in your developer account

That’s why Staged Rollout (gradual distribution) is one of the key tools for shipping safely.

What is a Rollout?

A rollout is the process of distributing an active release to users.

Google Play supports two approaches:

• Full rollout - 100% of users immediately
• Staged rollout - gradual distribution by percentage

Rollout applies only to the production track.

What is a Staged rollout?

A staged rollout is a gradual release of a new app version to a portion of users.

Example steps:

• 1%
• 5%
• 10%
• 25%
• 50%
• 100%

At each step, you can:

• analyze your crash rate
• check ANR metrics (App Not Responding)
• review new user feedback
• decide whether to continue or stop the rollout

When you should always use staged rollout

It’s strongly recommended whenever:

• the update is large
• authentication or payments are affected
• SDKs were updated (Ads, Analytics, Billing)
• the app architecture changed
• you’re shipping the app to real users for the first time

A full rollout is only justified for:

• tiny fixes
• urgent hotfixes
• internal projects without real users

Rollout percentages: a practical strategy

A conservative and safe scenario:

Important:

• don’t rush
• watch trends, not just absolute numbers
• consider time zones

Key metrics to monitor

During rollout, focus on these signals:

Crash rate

• a sudden spike is a reason to halt the rollout
• always compare with the previous version

ANR (Application Not Responding)

• critical for production
• strongly affects your app rating

Reviews

• new reviews often appear in the first hours
• repeated negative feedback is a warning sign

Android vitals

• Google may automatically slow down distribution
• poor vitals impact app visibility

Halting a rollout

You can manually halt a rollout.

What happens when you halt:

• new users won’t get the update
• users who already updated stay on the new version
• the release gets Halted status

Note:

• this is not a rollback
• the version is not reverted automatically

Rollback: myths and reality

Google Play does not support true rollback.

You cannot:

• revert users to the previous version
• “undo” an update

The only option:

• urgently release a new version with fixes
• start the rollout again

Halt vs new release

Rollout and Managed Publishing

If Managed Publishing is enabled:

• You can fully prepare the release
• Rollout starts only after manual confirmation
• Useful for coordinating with marketing

Important:

• staged rollout begins after confirmation
• rollout percentages work as usual

CI/CD and rollout

Typical production flow:

• CI uploads the AAB/APK package
• Release is created in Draft status
• Human confirms the rollout
• Staged rollout is managed manually

Automatic 100% rollout without staged rollout is high risk.

Common mistakes

❗ Rollout = 0%

Release is active, but:

• users don’t get the update
• it may seem Google is “delaying” the release

❗ Rollout too fast

• crashes are detected too late
• rating damage is already done

❗ Hoping for rollback

• it doesn’t exist
• always have a hotfix plan

Rollout, tracks, and statuses

• rollout works only in the production track
• halted rollout does not change app status
• Paused apps ignore rollout
• Suspended by Google apps blocks any releases

Recommendations (best practices)

• always use staged rollout
• start at 1%
• don’t increase percentage without analysis
• have a hotfix plan ready
• avoid major releases on Fridays

Summary

Rollout is the main risk control tool on Google Play.

Staged rollout lets you:

• protect users
• maintain your rating
• stop problems in time
• release updates confidently and safely

This mechanism is essential for all production releases, especially in actively developed apps.