This guide describes the process of establishing the digital records and relationships necessary for a Unity game to interact with an In-App Purchase Store. The Unity IAPAbbreviation of Unity In App Purchase
See in Glossary purchasing API is targeted.
In-App Purchase (IAP) is the process of transacting money for digital goods. A platform’s Store allows purchase of Products representing digital goods. These Products have an Identifier, typically of string datatype. Products have Types to represent their durability: subscription, consumable (capable of being rebought), and non-consumable (capable of being bought once) are the most common.
Windows App Development offers both local and remote Windows Store client-server IAP testing.
This page covers local testing with the emulator and a simulated billing system, then Windows Store testing which limits app publication visibility to those with the app’s link.
Note: This guide targets Windows 10 Universal SDK. Other Windows targets are available.
Note: Unity versions 5.6+ support IL2CPPA Unity-developed scripting back-end which you can use as an alternative to Mono when building projects for some platforms. More info
See in Glossary Windows builds. Using Unity IAP for IL2CPP on Windows with earlier versions of Unity generates a compilation error.
Write a game implementing Unity IAP. Refer to Unity IAP Initialization.
Keep the game’s product identifiers on-hand for use in Microsoft’s Windows Dev Center Dashboard to perform remote Windows Store testing later.
Microsoft offers a simulated billing system, permitting local testing of IAP. This removes the need to configure anything on the Windows Dev Center or communicate with the Windows Store via the app for initial integration testing.
Configuring local testing is far simpler than for remote Store testing, although it requires temporary code changes to the app which need to be removed before app publication.
To test IAP locally:
Activate the simulated billing system in code where Unity IAP is initialized with its ConfigurationBuilder instance.
Warning: Remove these code changes after testing, before publishing to the Store; otherwise the app will not transact any real money via IAP!
Build the application in Unity for Universal Windows Platform.
Open the application in Visual Studio and run the Local Machine target for x86.
Test IAP.
Remove the simulated billing system from code.
Once basic IAP functionality has been tested locally, you can more confidently begin working with the Windows Store. This test confirms that the app has all necessary IAPs registered correctly to permit purchasing.
For testing IAP and publication use the Windows Dev Center and configure the app with a limited visibility. This limits the app’s visibility to those who have its direct link.
Note: Testing on the Store also requires Certification, which might serve as an obstacle to testing. It is therefore important to complete testing locally before proceeding to testing with Windows Store.
In the Dev Center create a new app.
Reserve the app name.
To test IAP with the Windows Store, the Windows Dev Center needs the published app. Click Pricing and availability and limit the app’s Store visibility so that it is only available to users who have the app’s direct link.
“Distribution and visibility” has a list of the Store’s available publication behaviors. Select Hide this app in the Store.
Collect the direct link. This will be used to install the app on a Windows 10 device for testing.
Submit the app for Certification.
Submissions might take many hours to complete, and blocking issues might be raised by Microsoft Certification, which you will need to address before the submission passes successfully.
Add each IAP, setting the price to be “free” so that no money will be transacted during testing. After the test is completed, reconfigure the IAP with the desired price and republish it. Refer to IAP Submissions.
In the new app’s “App overview” page, click Create a new IAP .
Enter the product ID.
Configure the type, price, and language.
Note: For Pricing and availability choose free for testing purposes to avoid incurring unnecessary financial charges. When you finish testing, yo can then update and re-submit each IAP with the desired price in preparation for release to the public.
Select Properties to set the type.
Select Pricing and availability to set the price choosing Free as explained above.
Select Manage languages and declare the supported languages.
Select the declared language when returned to the IAP overview.
Populate the Title, Description and Icon.
Submit the IAP for Certification.
Similar to apps, IAP submissions might take many hours to complete, and blocking issues might be raised by Microsoft Certification, which you will need to address before the submission passes successfully.
These steps follow a branch of the beta test process made possible with Windows Store. This involves limiting the visibility of the app itself, negating discovery by the public through the “Search Store” function. For more information, refer to Windows Dev Center resources on beta testing and targeted distribution.
Confirm both the app and IAPs have completed Certification.
Install the app on a Windows 10 device via the direct link, generated above.
Test IAP.
After passing test, update the IAP with the desired public pricing, update the app visibility settings to share with the general public, and submit both kinds of changes for final Certification.
• 2017–05–16 Page amended
Did you find this page useful? Please give it a rating:
Thanks for rating this page!
What kind of problem would you like to report?
Thanks for letting us know! This page has been marked for review based on your feedback.
If you have time, you can provide more information to help us fix the problem faster.
Provide more information
You've told us this page needs code samples. If you'd like to help us further, you could provide a code sample, or tell us about what kind of code sample you'd like to see:
You've told us there are code samples on this page which don't work. If you know how to fix it, or have something better we could use instead, please let us know:
You've told us there is information missing from this page. Please tell us more about what's missing:
You've told us there is incorrect information on this page. If you know what we should change to make it correct, please tell us:
You've told us this page has unclear or confusing information. Please tell us more about what you found unclear or confusing, or let us know how we could make it clearer:
You've told us there is a spelling or grammar error on this page. Please tell us what's wrong:
You've told us this page has a problem. Please tell us more about what's wrong:
Thank you for helping to make the Unity documentation better!
Your feedback has been submitted as a ticket for our documentation team to review.
We are not able to reply to every ticket submitted.
When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
More information
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. Some 3rd party video providers do not allow video views without targeting cookies. If you are experiencing difficulty viewing a video, you will need to set your cookie preferences for targeting to yes if you wish to view videos from these providers. Unity does not control this.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.