What just happened? A landmark 2024 court decision forced Google to support rival Android app stores in the US. While Epic Games, the company whose lawsuit initiated the shift, has not yet brought its storefront to Google Play, a relatively obscure app distributor has taken the first step.
Aptoide has become the first new Android app store available directly through the Google Play Store. The company is taking advantage of shifting regulations forcing Google to support rival storefronts, with others sure to follow.
Following a years-long legal war with Epic Games, Google's Android app business was declared an illegal monopoly last year. Although Android is an ostensibly open platform where users can sideload apps, and Google Play is not the only app store, a judge ruled that Google deliberately designed its developer incentives and policies to discourage the emergence of other options. Since Apple's iOS is an explicitly closed garden, the ruling does not apply to iPhones and iPads.
In compliance with the ruling and a settlement with Epic, Google recently opened a page on the Play Store that hosts third-party app stores, with Aptoide currently the sole occupant. Aptoide's selection broadly resembles those of Google Play and Apple's App Store, featuring free-to-play and live-service games such as Marvel Snap, PUBG, Free Fire, Fortnite, Roblox, and Clash of Clans. However, other stores might offer more diverse selections.
The Epic Games Store will likely appear before long, as the company's court battle with Google is what led to the landmark decision. Epic has already opened an iOS store in Europe and Japan following similar regulatory actions in those territories, and Android users can sideload the storefront globally. Installing Epic's app through the Google Play Store will likely become much easier than sideloading it, as Google is preparing to make sideloading more cumbersome by requiring developers to register with the company.
While it remains unclear when additional third-party stores will arrive on Google Play or who might operate them, there are several reasonable candidates. Seeing Samsung there would be unsurprising, as the company operates its own store and sells some of the most popular Android devices. Amazon might also seize the opportunity to revive its app business. Microsoft reportedly shelved plans for a mobile app store a few years ago due to Google's and Apple's restrictive policies, so it might take the opportunity to try again.
Notably, Valve is supporting the development of a translation layer for playing Steam's PC games on the Arm chipsets that power Android devices. Officially, the project is intended to support Valve's upcoming Arm-based Steam Frame VR headset, which might support Android apps. However, the early work has already allowed modders to bring Steam to jailbroken Nintendo Switches and some Android devices. An Android Steam store might soon become possible.