Alphabet’s Google announced a sweeping overhaul of how apps are distributed on Android devices, introducing measures designed to give competitors easier access to the platform while reducing fees for developers. The changes, revealed Wednesday, come as the company works to resolve antitrust litigation in the United States and comply with regulatory demands in Europe and other regions, according to Bloomberg.
Under the new framework, outside companies will be able to register with Google, pay a one-time fee and launch their own app stores on Android devices, according to Bloomberg. The move marks a major shift for the mobile ecosystem and is expected to make it easier for rival marketplaces to distribute apps directly on Android phones and tablets.
“These announcements are not about just doing what’s required,” Sameer Samat, Google’s vice president of product development, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The moves go “well beyond” what is being required by legal changes in Europe and the UK, he said.
As part of the update, Google will also cut the fees it charges developers for recurring subscriptions. The company’s standard commission of 30% will drop to rates as low as 15% or even 10% in some cases, according to Bloomberg. The revised fee structure is expected to take effect by June in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, with similar changes planned for Australia, South Korea and Japan before the end of 2026.
The company’s billing policies are also being reworked. Developers who choose to use Google’s billing services will pay a flat 5% fee, while others will be free to use third-party payment processors, according to Bloomberg. Google said the changes are intended to modernize the Android ecosystem and offer more flexibility to developers.
Epic Games Inc., which had been engaged in a lengthy antitrust dispute with Google, welcomed the announcement. The video game company said the policy shifts address its concerns about the Android platform and will help resolve litigation in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other jurisdictions, according to Bloomberg.
“Anybody can launch a competitive app store now,” Epic Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney said in a joint interview with Samat.
The financial stakes surrounding Google’s app marketplace are significant. Alphabet does not publicly disclose separate revenue figures for Android or the Google Play store, but documents introduced in its US litigation with Epic indicated the platform generated $14.66 billion in sales in 2020, according to Bloomberg. Analysts had estimated that regulatory changes and legal challenges could reduce gross profit from the app store by roughly $1 billion.
The policy shift arrives amid heightened regulatory scrutiny around the world. In March 2025, the European Commission accused Google of violating the European Union’s Digital Markets Act by restricting developers from directing users to alternative offers outside the Play Store, according to Bloomberg. If regulators ultimately determine that the company breached the rules, it could face fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.
Google has already paid about €9.5 billion, or roughly $11.3 billion, in fines to the European Union over competition law violations in previous cases, per Bloomberg. Regulators have also required the company to remove certain technical barriers affecting rival AI search assistants on Android devices.
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Regulators in the United Kingdom have also stepped up oversight. The country’s Competition and Markets Authority previously designated Google as having Strategic Market Status in the mobile platforms market, giving authorities the power to impose rules aimed at limiting the influence of dominant technology firms, according to Bloomberg.
The legal dispute between Google and Epic has played a central role in driving the latest changes. A US jury ruled in 2023 that certain Android policies violated antitrust law. Following that decision, US District Judge James Donato issued an injunction requiring Google to allow competing app stores access to its catalog of apps and to prevent preferential treatment for its own services on Android devices, according to Bloomberg.
In a filing Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, both companies said Google will share its Play Store catalog with rivals and permit alternative app stores on Android devices after registration. The proposal is intended to address concerns raised by Donato regarding a settlement reached in November 2025, according to Bloomberg. The judge must still approve the plan for it to take effect in the United States.
Donato had previously questioned the earlier settlement, describing it during a January hearing as a “sweetheart deal” for Google, according to Bloomberg.
Despite the regulatory and legal pressures, Samat said the company’s decision to adjust its developer fee structure was voluntary. The changes were not required by the US court ruling or by legislation in other markets, he said, but were introduced as part of an effort to reshape the broader Android ecosystem, according to Bloomberg.
Source: Bloomberg
