Google Play Store

Following up on the Digital Markets Act, the European Union is launching a “non-compliance investigation” into Alphabet, specifically centered around Google Search and specific rules in the Play Store.

Following testing in December, Google is moving Play Store search to the bottom bar with a new tab.

Google is at the Games Develop Summit (GDC) this week and has a number of Android-related announcements, including progress about Play Pass and Play Points.

As part of complying with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google Play is getting an opt-in “external offers” program for Android apps and games across phones, tablets, Wear OS, ChromeOS, and Android TV.

Google is rolling out a new form factor switcher for screenshots and reviews on Play Store listings, while a second splash screen of sorts is appearing when launching the app.

In what could be a bug or behavior change, the Google Play Store is not showing available updates for system-level apps. 

In 2021, Google allowed gambling and betting Android apps to appear in the Play Store. Google Play will soon support more of these real-money gaming (RMG) apps, which involve users putting in money with the idea of possibly earning/winning more.

In 2021, 36 US states and the District of Columbia sued Google over Play Store antitrust concerns. A settlement was reached in September and the terms, including changes to Google Play, have now been revealed.

Google looks to be testing a new design for the Google Play Store. In the process of doing so, some users are losing the search bar altogether, with almost no way to find specific apps.

The Epic vs Google court battle has come to a verdict, with a jury unanimously voting in Epic’s favor, and declaring that Google has an “illegal monopoly” with the Play Store and Google Play billing.

With 2023 winding down, Google Play today named the best Android apps and games of the year. This includes Users’ Choice and several “Best for” categories. These lists are localized, and you can browse your country by tapping the banners at the top of the Play Store.

As the Epic v. Google lawsuit continues, we learned today that Samsung devices, as of early 2019, accounted for “half or more” of Google Play revenue.

Google Play’s work to boost app quality on Android continues today with a requirement for wider testing before release.

The saga of Fortnite on Android has had a lot of ups and downs as Epic Games tried to avoid paying the Play Store’s cut of in-app purchases, but things could have been very different if Epic Games had accepted a deal offered by Google which would have paid $147 million just to get the game on the Play Store.

As the year winds down, Google Play has opened voting for the 2023 Users’ Choice Awards. You can select the best new Android app and game, as well as book.