[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-google-to-host-rival-app-stores-on-play-starting-next-week":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},4735,"google-to-host-rival-app-stores-on-play-starting-next-week","Google to Host Rival App Stores on Play Starting Next Week","A court-ordered remedy, triggered by Epic's 2020 Fortnite dispute, forces Google to distribute competing app stores through Google Play.","Google will begin distributing third-party app stores through Google Play next week — not because it wants to, but because a federal judge said so.\n\nThe settlement between Google and Epic Games is being withdrawn, which activates the remedies Judge James Donato set after finding Google liable for anti-competitive conduct in its management of Android app distribution. Those remedies include reduced fees, mirroring of Google Play apps in rival stores, and — the headline item — placement of competing app stores directly inside Google Play. The case traces back to 2020, when Epic added a direct payment option to the mobile version of Fortnite, bypassing the 30 percent cut Google and Apple each collected on in-app purchases like V-Bucks bundles. Both platforms pulled Fortnite; both faced antitrust suits.\n\nApple walked away from its Epic case largely unscathed. Google did not, in part because Android's theoretical openness made its anti-competitive behavior harder to defend — the evidence showed Google had actively pressured device makers against pre-loading or promoting rival stores, then tried to conceal it. That gap between Android's open-source reputation and Google's behind-the-scenes conduct was damaging in court.\n\nGoogle now faces what Apple has so far avoided: a structural change to how apps reach Android users. Whether any rival store can build a real audience through a Google-mandated listing is a different question — being present on the shelf and actually getting picked up are not the same thing.","[\"google\",\"android\",\"antitrust\",\"app stores\"]","2026-07-15T16:55:12.000Z","2026-07-15T19:50:02.355Z","2026-07-15T19:50:05.297Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"google","android","antitrust","app stores",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"Ars Technica","https:\u002F\u002Farstechnica.com\u002Fgadgets\u002F2026\u002F07\u002Fthird-party-app-stores-coming-to-google-play-next-week-as-epic-settlement-withdrawn\u002F",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,52,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",2602,"2026-07-18T18:30:00.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",315,"2026-07-17T19:30:00.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":24,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Policy",169,"2026-07-17T19:49:53.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",126,"2026-07-16T20:09:48.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",94,"2026-07-16T16:29:46.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Software","software",72,"2026-07-17T09:42:05.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",60,"2026-07-16T16:59:13.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",42,"2026-07-16T16:30:35.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]