Guideline 4.3(a): 5 rejections despite major code and content changes

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Created 13h

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Hi everyone. I’m looking for some advice regarding repeated rejections under Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam.

I’m a solo developer and have been making car simulator sandbox games since 2020. I already have an older game in the same genre on the App Store, and I’ve spent around 2 years developing its sequel. The new game is also available on Google Play, where it has passed 1M installs in its first month and currently has a 4.9 rating.

The iOS version has now been rejected 5 times over the last 4 months.

Attempt 1: Rejected under 4.3(a) with:

"We noticed the app shares a similar binary, metadata, and/or concept..."

I explained what makes the game different, filed an appeal, added a new feature, and submitted again.

Attempt 2: Same rejection. I requested a phone call with App Review. During the call, I was told that their system had detected a "binary match" with another developer’s game in the same genre. The reviewer explained that similarities could come from game code, assets, shared engine code, ad SDKs, third-party libraries, etc. When I asked what I could change, the main advice was to change the code.

Attempts 3 & 4: I removed unused code and libraries, changed dependencies, reorganized and refactored parts of the project, and also tried obfuscation. The result was still the same 4.3(a) rejection.

After that, I spent around 3 months working on a major update. I updated Unity and dependencies, removed anything unnecessary, added new cars, reworked the physics, reorganized assemblies, changed and renamed large parts of the codebase, and did a substantial code refactor.

Attempt 5: After 9 days in review, I received a different 4.3(a) message:

"This app still exhibits an app with a spam like template that shows similarities in concept and look with apps already on the app store in a saturated category."

This is where I’m confused. The previous feedback focused on binary similarity, while the latest rejection seems to focus on the concept and visual similarity instead.

The game is not based on a template. It has hundreds of scripts written specifically for the project, a custom physics engine, custom UI, and many systems and features developed specifically for this game. There are also only a few comparable vehicle physics sandbox games on iOS.

I have already used the Review Notes to explain what is new in the sequel and how it differs from both my previous game and other games in the genre. I also appealed the first rejection, but the decision was upheld.

At this point, I’m not sure what else I can reasonably change or what exactly is triggering 4.3(a). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

App: Crash Test Simulator 3

Bundle ID: com.FozerGames.CrashTestSimulator3

Answer 1

Claude31 OP

5h

I explained what makes the game different,

Different from what ? Does it mean that at first there was effectively a problem ?

saturated category

That will be hard to resolve, if the issue is that there are too many (seen from Apple) similar games in the category.

May be you could ask if it is possible to change category (if you have a good rationale for another one). But don't do it without discussing with reviewer, as it could be interpreted as a tentative to cheat the system.

Answer 2

Dmitrii_Fozer OP

4h

Different from what ? Does it mean that at first there was effectively a problem ?

By different I meant different from my previous game and other similar games. I only started explaining that after reading advice from other developers who got 4.3.

As for the category it’s already games with simulation and racing as the subcategories. I honestly don’t see what else would even make sense.

And I don’t really think this niche is that saturated compared to some others. I can only find around 3 real sandbox car crash games that are actually similar, not counting my older game

Answer 3

Tomato OP

1h

There is not much information with which a total stranger can assist you. Besides, it sounds to me that the appeal board has made its decision though you don't explicitly say it. Instead of telling us of game's genre, game description, a list of keywords, you are talking about some irrelevant aspects of your review submission. You don't even mention what you have done with the original game.

I'm afraid that nobody needs to know how many times your Android version has been downloaded. If it truly matters, then your solution is to take your case to Google or FTC. And I don't even know why you are showing a list of submissions.