This is Google Play’s First Third-Party App Store in the US

As promised earlier this summer, Google has finally listed a rival Android app store through Google Play. Users can now download Aptoide Games, a games-focused digital storefront run by Portugal-based Aptoide, from Google Play. Once downloaded, the two apps exist simultaneously; neither replaces the other.

The listing follows a long legal battle between Epic Games and Google, with the former accusing the latter of propping up an illegal monopoly by prohibiting third-party app stores on its smartphone OS. In 2023, a jury found that Google violated competition laws through its Play Store practices. A judge later ordered Google to allow rival app stores access to its catalog.

Under the new terms, participating stores must meet Google’s security, privacy, support, and content-policy requirements and pay Google a $5,000 annual fee to use the Play Store catalog. Apps downloaded from that catalog also deliver Google its typical Play service fee. Developers can opt out of sharing their listings with rival stores, and Google’s terms prevent stores from using Play catalog data to share apps outside their country.

Aptoide Games marks the first rival store to use this route in the US. As the name suggests, it focuses on games and does not cover every Play Store category.

Time will tell whether more app stores will join the fray, how many developers participate, and which users choose these alternatives.