Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Yesterday, Google announced a summary of changes it is making to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which comes into effect from today. One important detail, however, was whether and how much developers would be charged for letting users outside the Play Store sideload their apps.
Now, Google has revealed that it will actually charge developers even if they don’t use the Play Store, similar to what Apple did with the App Store. For each new detail found in Play Console Help Sectionthe company will charge two new fees:
-
Initial acquisition fee is 10% for in-app purchases and 5% for 2-year subscription. This represents the value that Play provides to ease initial user acquisition.
-
Ongoing service fees are 17% for in-app purchases and 7% for subscriptions. This includes ongoing Play Services like parental controls, security, anti-cheat, and app updates.
If users agree, developers can opt out of recurring fees after two years, but ongoing Play Services will no longer apply. Google said, “Because users obtained apps through Play expecting services such as parental controls, security scanning, fraud prevention, and continuous app updates, we also require their consent to suspend services.” Stated.
Google has included the following table showing how fees are applied to a hypothetical “Fantastiq app.”
This would put Google in a similar approach to Apple, which cut App Store fees but introduced new fees. In other words, Apple has imposed a new 3% “payment processing” fee on transactions that go through its store. Also, with the new “Core Technology Fee”, after the first 1 million installs, for all app downloads, whether from the App Store or from third-party he websites. A flat fee of 0.50 euros will be charged.
Google justifies its fees by touting the value it provides in the Android ecosystem: “Play’s fees support our investments in Android and Google Play. The value that Android and Play provideThis includes making Android available to billions of users around the world while allowing us to distribute it for free and provide a continuously growing suite of tools and services that help developers build successful businesses. This includes being able to ensure the safety of the platform. ”
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney had already slammed Google’s post regarding DMA compliance yesterday, before the new rates were made public. “Google has announced plans to maliciously comply with European DMA laws… Its illegal anti-steering policy appears to be replaced by a new Google tax on web transactions. We’ll see soon enough how they will react to the new charges.