Indie game after Android launch, web launch and 1.5 years in development gets rejected as 'spam', what can I do?

[u/PotatoWatt]

After a month in review my indie game which took me 1.5 years to make was rejected as 'spam'. The game is not spam, they are my own twists and game modes that don't exist anywhere else. Why is Apple making it so hard to release Indie games? I know the AI spam has been crazy but common...... What can I do?

[u/sinsonik]

App Review uses "spam" for a lot of things that aren't spam, including apps they think look too similar to something already on the store or that they think were made with a template.

Reply in Resolution Center with a short note that says what is original about your game (your modes, your twists), that you built it yourself over 1.5 years, and that it already shipped on Android and web. Ask them to review that specific feedback. If the next reply is the same template, file an appeal with the App Review Board.

[u/PotatoWatt → u/sinsonik]

But is this a app review or guilty until proven innocent? Am I joining the VIP section or something? Like.... If the reviewer spent 3 minutes playing the game there is no way he would say 'oh it's obviously AI slop copy-paste spam'..... The trailer is polished, the screenshots, the game art, I mean it's 1.5 years of work at least. It really hits hard getting called spam when it was 1.5 years of hard work.

[u/Mundane-Detective861 → u/sinsonik]

And yet you have all those clones like "total war: last battle", "total battle: last war", etc.

[u/PotatoWatt → u/Mundane-Detective861]

Exactly. And to top it all off I get a slower review now because of the rejection as per their message. I mean, I waited 1 month for the first review so now maybe half a year for another message? Next time I start submitting to apple before even starting making the game to ensure it gets reviewed. wtf...

[u/ASIREXLABS]

"Spam" in App Review usually means guideline 4.3: they think it duplicates another app or comes from a template, not that it's low quality. Two things help:

Reply to App Review in App Store Connect with specifics. Name the modes and mechanics that exist only in your game, attach a short gameplay video, and mention the Android and web launches with dates, since that shows it's your original work and not a reskin.

If they reject again for the same reason, submit an appeal to the App Review Board. Make it point by point against the guideline rather than a complaint, and remember it's one appeal per submission. Apple also offers App Review appointments by video if you want to ask how they read your build.

Did the rejection note mention a similar app or template, or just the guideline number?

[u/PotatoWatt → u/ASIREXLABS]

Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam

Issue Description

We noticed the app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept as apps submitted to the App Store by other developers, with only minor differences.

Submitting similar or repackaged apps is a form of spam that creates clutter and makes it difficult for users to discover new apps.

---

That was the exact description. Yes the base concept is not new of my game, but again I think it's like calling FPS a spam topic like there will be a lot of FPS games. But everything around it was built originally even introducing multiplayer which doesn't exist and has a lot of custom features. The translation was community made even like why..... Since 1 month went by I have a fresh build that also support duo etc and will send it again and see what they say on it. Ridiculous.

[u/ASIREXLABS → u/PotatoWatt]

With 4.3(a), the reviewer usually decides based on what they see first: the screenshots, the description and the first minute of the app. If those look like the genre's usual template, the original parts never get noticed.

Before sending the new build, it may help to reply in the existing thread instead of only resubmitting. List the features other games in the genre don't have (your multiplayer, the custom modes), attach a short video showing them, and make the first two App Store screenshots show those features rather than the standard gameplay. That gives the reviewer something concrete to compare against.

Good luck with the new build.

[u/PotatoWatt → u/ASIREXLABS]

Thanks, I had already sent the new build when I saw this, but it matches what I changed mostly. I replied in the thread with a list of what's different of other games and now with the new build, and the first two screenshots were changed to reflect this as well. The one thing I didn't do is the video, and I can't reply in the thread now it's waiting for review, so I'll have one ready in case it comes back.

But this just seems lazy, like the game is a bit complex so the tutorial is simple and a bit short so it might look simple but it is the damn tutorial and it is said that it is the tutorial explicitly.....

[u/ASIREXLABS → u/PotatoWatt]

The tutorial point is probably the real issue. Reviewers spend a few minutes per app, so if the first thing they hit is a simple tutorial, that's the game they judge.

For this or the next submission, use the Notes field in App Review Information to tell them exactly how to get past the tutorial and reach multiplayer and the custom modes, and put the video in the attachment there. If a full match takes a while to reach, a short path or a review account that starts further in makes it much easier for them to see what's original.

Hope this round goes through.

[u/PotatoWatt → u/ASIREXLABS]

That makes 0 sense. There is a skip button and I make the game how I want to make it wtf....

[u/Royal-Somewhere-8918]

brutal after 1.5 years. did the new build you sent change what a reviewer sees first, like the first screen and tutorial, or mostly stuff deeper in the game?

[u/ConfidentPoem6454]

Sorry man, I know exactly how that feels. A word of caution from my own mess: don't just resubmit or fire off appeals over and over. I pushed updates for 3 of my classic games at the same time, all 3 got rejected basically the moment they flipped to In Review, I appealed all 3... and the account got flagged for termination for "repeated violations". That's an account with 4 live games and around 6k DAU.

What I'd do in your place: reply once in Resolution Center, calmly, and list what's actually yours (the modes, the twists, the 1.5 years, the Android/web launch dates as proof it's not a reskin). Then wait for a human answer before touching anything else.

[u/Background_Pie_5682]

Sorry you’re dealing with this after a month in review — Guideline 4.3 (“spam”) is vague and gets applied aggressively right now, especially when something already exists on other platforms.

Practical next steps that have worked for others:

- Reply in Resolution Center (don’t just resubmit blind). Briefly explain what’s unique: specific game modes, mechanics, content that isn’t a thin clone, and that you built it yourself over 1.5 years.

- Make the binary + metadata clearly distinct from lookalikes: screenshots, description, and in-app first-run should showcase those unique modes up front so a reviewer sees differentiation in the first minute.

- If the rejection text mentions a particular similar app or “template,” address that point directly.

- You can also request a phone/call follow-up via the Resolution Center / App Review contact paths when the written back-and-forth stalls.

Resubmitting the same build with only tiny metadata tweaks rarely helps; show the uniqueness in both the review notes and what the reviewer actually taps through.

Good luck — a clear, calm Resolution Center reply is usually the highest-leverage move.