South Park: Phone Destroyer Guide — How to Fix the Google Play Error

South Park: Phone Destroyer is finally out on iOS and Android devices. With zeal and a sense of giddy, you land in your device’s app store and download the game, anticipating the moment when you’ll ultimately be able to hit the Play button and get started. You launch the game, wait as it downloads more assets, and get excited as it logs you in — before suddenly being met with an error.

The Google Play error to be precise.

What’s frustrating is that if you follow the directions given to you by the game, it won’t even fix anything. You’ll just launch the game to the same error. Every. Single. Time.

So what gives? This guide will show you what to do. 

How to Fix the Google Play Error in South Park: Phone Destroyer

Well, as it turns out, the directions that the game gives you for fixing the error are extremely misleading. The glitch doesn’t actually have anything to do with Google Play itself, and following the instructions to sign out and log back in is probably just going to cause a bigger headache since that account is likely connected to pretty much everything currently installed on your phone.

So if Google Play isn’t actually the issue behind the glitch, then what is? And why does the game claim that Google Play is the issue?

Well, your Google Play account is actually connected to the error, just not via the Google Play app. You’re most likely encountering this error because Google Play Games is not installed on your phone. Without this app, you can’t log into the game servers, which leaves you unable to play at all.

Of course, to fix it, all you need to do is find Google Play Games in the Google Play store and install it. Once that installs, try launching the game and it should run — sans the glitch.

If this doesn’t work, then there may actually be something wrong with your Google Play account. Try following the game’s directions to log out and log back in. If that doesn’t work, considering using or making another Google Play account and that should get you in.

Now that you can actually play it, are you enjoying the game? Be sure to check back with GameSkinny for more South Park: Phone Destroyer guides.