Google Play to Allow Third-Party App Stores Starting July 22, 2026

Big changes are coming to Android apps, but they’re not the changes Google wanted. The settlement between Google and Epic that aimed to put to rest the companies’ long-running antitrust battle is being withdrawn, and that means third-party app stores are coming to Google Play. Google has confirmed that it will begin distributing rival app stores starting July 22, 2026, setting the stage for competing platforms to take a bite out of Google’s Android revenue stream.

This case has the potential to upend software distribution on Android, and it’s all because of V-Bucks. In 2020, Epic Games was frustrated that it had to pay a 30 percent cut to Apple and Google every time someone bought a bundle of V-Bucks in a mobile version of Fortnite. The publisher added a direct purchase option to the game in violation of both Apple’s and Google’s rules. Naturally, Fortnite was pulled from the App Store and Google Play, kicking off the antitrust lawsuit that is only now reaching its conclusion.

While Apple suffered little penalty in its Epic case, Google was tripped up by its anti-competitive management of the supposedly open Android ecosystem. Google used its market position to discourage device makers from promoting or pre-loading non-Google app stores and attempted to hide that conduct. The remedies set by Judge James Donato included lower fees, mirroring Google Play apps in other stores, and most vitally, placement of alternative app stores in Google Play. The court felt adding third-party app stores to Google Play was the best way to ensure fair access. After all, Google was found guilty of anticompetitive conduct, which entrenched the Play Store and made it the only source of software for most Android users.

Epic Games and Google have just jointly withdrawn their attempt to retroactively settle the lawsuit that’s changing how Android app stores work in the United States — and that means Google will be forced to carry rival app stores inside of its own. In fact, Google tells the court, it’s ready to begin carrying third-party app stores on Wednesday, July 22nd. In October 2024, Judge James Donato originally agreed that forcing Google to carry rival Android app stores within its own Google Play store for several years, and forcing it to share its own entire catalog of apps with those stores, would be the best way of undoing the company’s illegal monopoly over Android applications.

Google announced the Play Catalog Access Program, allowing third-party app stores to access the Google Play catalog in the US. The opening is limited to the US market; to participate, third-party app stores must pay an initial security review fee of $5,000 and an annual fee of $5,000, and must meet Google's strict technical and security requirements.

For developers, this opens new distribution channels and potentially lower fees. For users, it means easier access to alternative stores without sideloading. For the ecosystem, it could fragment app distribution and challenge Google's revenue model. The network effects of Google’s dominant position would therefore make it difficult for a competitor to attract significant market share with these new opportunities.