After years of legal battles with Epic Games, Google has announced changes to its Play Store that are important for developers but may also change how you make payments, how much you spend, or where you download new apps on Android.
Using a third-party app store alternative to Google Play will soon become easier through a new Registered App Store program. It’s an optional title for app and game storefronts that helps them become a recommended choice by Google, enabling what the brand calls a “more simplified installation flow” for sideloading.
App stores can opt into the program for free, but they need to meet Google’s quality and safety benchmarks. Google confirmed in an interview with The Verge that the final decision on whether to include an app store in its program will be made by Google, not an independent body.
This functionality is set to launch outside the US at first as the brand awaits court approval for the feature.
Another big change is the end of the 30% developer fee, which Google currently charges on payments made through Play services. Those are reducing to 20% or less across the US, making Google Play billing for in-app purchases more lucrative for developers.
It will also soon let developers offer their own billing systems for payments hosted outside the Play Store.
Google says, “Mobile developers will have the option to use their own billing systems in their app alongside Google Play’s billing, or they can guide users outside of their app to their own websites for purchases. Our goal is to offer this flexibility in a way that maximizes choice and safety for users.”
This is all happening because of a legal battle with Epic Games, which brought a new payment system to Fortnite back in 2020. It allowed users to choose a cheaper in-game purchase option by going directly to Epic Games, bypassing the Play Store’s fee.
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Google’s fee updates will roll out to the Play Store in the US, Europe, and the UK by the end of June. It’ll then gradually roll out to the rest of the world, with Google planning to finish the implementation by the end of September 2027.
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With these changes, Google and Epic Games have also settled the ongoing dispute, and Fortnite has returned to the Play Store worldwide.
Epic Games CEO, Tim Sweeney, said, “Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we’ve settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE!”
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