Google’s new rules for the app store will allow alternative billing next week

While the court still hasn’t signed off on the massive settlement resolving Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google for having a monopoly over Android’s app store with Google Play, the tech giant says it will start rolling out changes to the way it handles billing for developers worldwide. As announced in March, the flat 30 percent billing fee is being replaced by “lower, decoupled fees” that partially decouple the billing and the app store.

How much of a cut Google will take from transactions now depends on whether it’s for a user whose first install came before or after the new structure, how much a developer has earned, and whether or not the developer uses Google Play’s billing system with its 5 percent additional fee, instead of an alternative system or linking to their own website.

For apps that make over a million dollars annually, that will be 20 percent for new in-app purchases and 10 percent for subscriptions. However Google has also announced Games Level Up and Apps Experience programs for “exceptional” and “premium ” experiences that meet its guidelines by working across platforms (like tablets, smart TVs, or Android Auto), meeting benchmarks for memory usage and crash rates, and supporting features it recommends (like cloud saves or phishing-resistant sign-ins) to qualify for a lower rate on both new and existing installs.

Other program changes will go into effect in some areas at the end of September, at the end of the year, before rolling out to the rest of the world after September 30th, 2027.