Google has announced that they will reduce the Play Store service fee by 3%, which means that “99% developers” who meet the requirements for 15% platform will see the percentage they pay down to 12%. This change applies to the service fees paid on the Play Store transaction conducted by Android users in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes 27 countries, assuming it occurs through the “alternative” collection system of third parties if the developer chooses to use one. Likewise, these changes apply specifically for “non-gaming application developers,” Google explained in his blog post about the change.
The company confirms that it will not “delete, or reject updates, non-gaming applications” originating from Devs that offers their EEA user access to the billing option outside the Google Play-Billing System Although, Mind, the last system is still needed for the game And other Android applications are available for users outside of EEA, and more, games available through the Play Store to EEA Users also still need to use the play collection system.
Google discusses the last point, which states that he expects “to expand the alternative billing” for the game application devs, with the ultimately applies to EEA users specifically. The company shows that this expansion will occur before the Digital Market Law (DMA) ratified by the European Parliament will take effect, noting in its blog post that this overall change is part of “Efforts to Comply with this new regulation.”
A new way of doing business
This is not the first time Google has changed the Play Store rules to accommodate a third party billing system. The company has an alternative collection option in South Korea that cuts 4% of costs, steps taken in response to the State Law which prohibits application stores from limiting third party payment options on their platforms.
Google has also launched a pilot program for user billing that allows a small number of developers to provide additional billing systems to give users more ways to pay. Play Store is the first large application store that offers this type of service for its creator, because Apple does not offer third-party billing on its App Store-with the exception of applications offered in South Korea, namely (through Apple). Spotify was the first developer to use an alternative collection system on Google Play, as announced in March 2022, although his support was not yet available for everyone.
