Google opens Android to rival app stores

Epic's years-long fight with Google just wrapped up, and Android users everywhere are about to get way more freedom with app stores and payment options.

Fortnite's Google Play comeback

• Fortnite will return to the Google Play Store after years of absence.
• Sweeney confirmed it is arriving soon but gave no specific date.
• Epic's mobile store already brought Fortnite back to Android in 2024.
• Australian players had to wait longer than everyone else for that return.

What Google is actually changing

• Competing app stores will be formally permitted on Android devices.
• Alternative payment processors get the green light for developers.
• Google Play fees are dropping for devs who stick with its billing system.
• Sameer Samat framed it as evolving toward choice and openness.

Global rollout timeline

• EEA, the United Kingdom, and the US go first by June 30, 2026.
• Australia follows by September 30, 2026.
• Korea and Japan are next in line by December 31, 2026.
• Every remaining region has to wait until September 30, 2027.