Unreal Engine 5.3 Android packaging setup

1) Install Unreal Engine 5.3

  1. Go to https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/download and download Epic games launcher
  2. Install Epic games launcher
  3. Open Epic games launcher, go to Unreal engine -> Library, click the ‘+’ sign and install Unreal engine version 5.3.0
  4. After installation is finished, go to Options from drop down menu of 5.3.0 and make sure that target platform Android is installed

2) Install Java

  1. Go to https://www.oracle.com/in/java/technologies/javase/javase8-archive-downloads.html and download jdk-11.0.20_windows-x64_bin.exe
  2. Install with default settings
  3. Go to start menu and search ‘env’ and open Edit environment variables
  4. Create new variable ‘JAVA_HOME’ with ‘C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11’ as its value
  5. In Path variable, add ‘C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11’ as its value and move it to the top of the list
  6. Check the version of java by opening the cmd app and typing ‘java -version’

3) Install Android Studio

  1. Go to https://developer.android.com/studio and download Android Studio Giraffe installer
  2. Install with default settings including API 34 and if prompted to install API 33/32/31 uncheck the box
  3. After installation is finished go to More Action -> SDK Manager
  4. Go to SDK Platforms tab -> Select Android 8 (API Level 26) and Android API 34 (API Level 34)
  5. Go to SDK Tools tab -> Under Android SDK Build-Tools select 26.0.3, 30.0.3 and 34.0.0
  6. Navigate to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\build-tools, open folder 26.0.3 and rename the file d8 to dx. Now open folder lib and rename d8 to dx. Do the same with folders 30.0.3 and 34.0.0.

4) Install NDK

  1. Open Android Studio 4 and go to More Action -> SDK Manager
  2. Go to tab SDK Tools -> Under NDK select ‘21.3.6528147’

5) Setup the Unreal Engine

  1. Open Unreal Engine 5.3.0 from Epic Launcher and follow the instructions given below:
    • Go to Edit > Project Settings
    • Go to Android tab under Platforms
    • Under APK Packaging > Press  Configure Now and Accept SDK
    • Enter Package Name and other details about your app
    • Minimum SDK version = 21
    • Target SDK version = 34
    • Install Location = Auto
    • Tick Package game data inside .apk
    • Tick Force small OBB files
    • Under App Bundles > Tick Generate bundle (AAB)
    • Under Build > Tick Support arm64
    • Now go to Android SDK under Platforms
    • Paste SDK location from Android Studio > SDK Tools
    • Pasting NDK location – Go to SDK location in file explorer > NDK > NDK version folder, copy the location and paste
    • Paste Java location from C/Program Files > Java > Version folder, copy the location and paste

6) Sign the project

  1. Run ‘cmd’ app as administrator
  2. Type ‘cd C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11\bin’ to navigate to java bin folder
  3. Type ‘keytool -genkey -v -keystore ExampleKey.keystore -alias MyKey -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000’
  4. Keystore password – ******
  5. First and Last name – TestGuy
  6. Name of your Organizational Unit – MyCompany
  7. Name of your organization – MyGame
  8. name of the City or Locality – MyCity
  9. State or Province – NC
  10. Two-letter country code for this unit – 00
  11. Is the information correct – Y
  12. Enter key password for <MyKey> – press enter
  13. Navigate to folder ‘C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11\bin’, copy the file ExampleKey.keystore and paste in project folder ‘C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Unreal Projects\PROJECTNAME\Build\Android’
  14. In Unreal Engine, navigate to Project settings -> Platforms -> Android -> Distribution signing and enter the details used for generating the keystore file (as given below)

7) Package the project

  1. In Unreal Engine go to Platforms -> Android -> Package project
  2. Select any folder location where you want to save the files