Aptoide opens new route into Google Play

Aptoide Games has become the first rival Android app store to be distributed directly through Google Play in the United States, marking a significant change in the mobile software market after years of legal challenges to Google’s control over app distribution.

The Portugal-based company’s games marketplace can now be installed from Google Play like a conventional application, removing the need for users to sideload the store or change device settings. The shift follows court-ordered changes arising from Epic Games’ antitrust case against Google, which forced the technology group to open parts of its Android ecosystem to greater competition.

Aptoide’s entry is important because rival app stores have traditionally faced far greater friction in reaching Android users. Alternative marketplaces could be pre-installed by device makers or downloaded independently, but Google Play itself was effectively closed to competing stores for more than a decade. Direct distribution through Google Play substantially lowers that barrier.

Aptoide serves about 25 million monthly active users and operates one of the largest independent Android marketplaces outside Google Play. Its wider platform offers tens of thousands of applications, while Aptoide Games concentrates on mobile gaming. The United States has already been one of the company’s biggest markets despite the previous requirement for sideloading.

The change traces back to Epic Games’ lawsuit filed in 2020. Epic accused Google of restricting competition in Android app distribution and payments through contracts, technical barriers and commercial arrangements that reinforced the Play Store’s position.

A federal jury sided with Epic in December 2023, finding that Google had violated antitrust law. US District Judge James Donato subsequently issued a permanent injunction in October 2024 requiring major changes to the Play Store ecosystem, including measures intended to restore competition in Android app distribution.

Google challenged the ruling, but the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the jury’s findings and the central elements of the injunction. The court also rejected Google’s arguments that the required opening of its platform created unacceptable security risks, noting that safeguards and technical oversight could be used to address those concerns.

The regulatory and legal changes are now producing visible consequences for consumers. Third-party stores can gain access to Google Play infrastructure and, under Google’s Play Catalog Access arrangements, may offer eligible applications through competing marketplaces. Developers retain choices over participation, meaning rival stores will not necessarily reproduce Google Play’s entire catalogue.

Aptoide’s arrival could therefore become a test of whether easier installation is enough to create meaningful competition. Alternative Android stores have existed for years, but many consumers have avoided them because sideloading involves downloading installation files outside Google Play and responding to security warnings.

Distribution from inside Google Play changes that experience. A user can discover and install Aptoide Games without leaving Google’s marketplace, giving the rival store access to a distribution channel already familiar to hundreds of millions of Android users.

Competition could increasingly shift towards pricing, discovery, developer terms and promotional tools rather than installation convenience alone. Stores may seek to differentiate themselves through lower commissions, exclusive offers, alternative payment arrangements and more favourable commercial terms for game publishers.

The development also puts greater pressure on Google’s traditional position as the dominant distributor of Android software. Google has argued for years that Play Store policies protect users against malware, fraud and other threats. Opening the ecosystem means those security concerns will remain an important part of the debate as more marketplaces seek access.

The court order explicitly allows safeguards designed to ensure competing stores and the applications they distribute meet reasonable security standards. A technical committee was also incorporated into the legal framework to help resolve implementation and security disputes.

Aptoide is unlikely to remain alone if the new model proves workable. Epic Games, which operates the Epic Games Store, has spent years challenging mobile-store restrictions, while Amazon, Samsung and other companies already have experience running alternative Android distribution platforms.

The wider significance extends beyond a single marketplace. Mobile software distribution has become a major competition-policy issue in the United States and Europe, with regulators and courts scrutinising the control exercised by platform owners over app discovery, payments and commissions.