# Initialize the SDK in Android

> Initialize the Unity Ads SDK in your Android app. Set your Game ID and configure a listener to handle initialization status and enable ad monetization.

To initialize the SDK, you must reference your Project's Game ID for the appropriate platform. You can locate the ID on the [Unity Ads Monetization dashboard](https://cloud.unity.com/monetization) by selecting **CURRENT PROJECT** > **Project Settings** from the secondary navigation menu.

In your game script, you need to implement an `IUnityAdsInitializationListener` interface that handles initialization callbacks. The initialize method to initialize the SDK requires this listener as a parameter. Initialize the SDK early in your project's run-time life cycle before you need to load an ad. For example:

> **Note:**
>
> Unity Ads requires access to the currently running Activity, so the following example uses `getApplicationContext()`.
> Because this might not be suitable for all implementations, some customization might be required (depending on the integration).

## SDK initialization example

1. **Java**

   ```java
   import android.os.Bundle;
   import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
   import com.unity3d.ads.example.R;

   import com.unity3d.ads.IUnityAdsInitializationListener;
   import com.unity3d.ads.UnityAds;

   public class InitializeAdsScript extends AppCompatActivity implements IUnityAdsInitializationListener {

     private String unityGameID = "1234567";
     private Boolean testMode = true;

     @Override
     protected void onCreate (Bundle savedInstanceState) {
       super.onCreate (savedInstanceState);
       setContentView (R.layout.activity_main);
       // Initialize the SDK:
       UnityAds.initialize(getApplicationContext(), unityGameID, testMode, this);
     }

     @Override
     public void onInitializationComplete() {
     }

     @Override
     public void onInitializationFailed(UnityAds.UnityAdsInitializationError error, String message) {
     }
   }
   ```

For the `initialize` function, the `context` parameter is the current Android [`Context`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context). The `unityGameID` parameter is the Unity Game ID for your project, found in the [Monetization dashboard](https://cloud.unity.com/monetization), specifically the Settings page of your project. The `IUnityAdsInitializationListener` is the listener for the result of the initialization call. The `true` Boolean indicates that the game is in test mode, and will only show test ads.

> **Note:**
>
> You must implement each of the callback methods in the listener interface, even if they are empty functions for now. You will populate them with the appropriate logic where needed in the following sections. For more information on each listener callback method, refer to the documentation on the `IUnityAdsInitializationListener` API.

**Next steps**: To continue your integration, refer to the [Implement interstitial ads in Android](/monetization/sdk-integration/android-sdk/interstitial-ads.md) documentation.