US Android users can now open Google Play and install Aptoide Games, a third-party digital store with its own selection of mobile games. The listing of rival storefronts within the Play Store makes them far easier for users to find and access than the sideloading route that alternative stores have historically required.
The arrival follows the latest twist in Google's legal battles with Epic. A judge ruled in 2024 that the Play Store would have to open up to third-party stores. Google appealed and lost, then reached a deal with Epic for a new global solution.
Judge James Donato expressed repeated skepticism about the two companies' joint proposal, and last month they dropped it, finally paving the way for app stores to open.
For users, the practical change is simple: you can search for Aptoide Games on the Play Store, hit install, and end up with an entirely separate place to find and download games on your phone. That cuts out much of the friction that has long made alternative app stores hard to adopt, since an alternative isn't much of an alternative if getting people to install it is the biggest hurdle.
Aptoide was previously available on Google Play before changes to Google's policies led to its removal. Android has always been more open than an iPhone, and users have long been able to install apps from outside Google Play.
The rollout has clear geographic boundaries. Aptoide is only available through the Play Store in the US, though it can be sideloaded on Android worldwide.
Google had announced plans to launch a Registered App Store program worldwide as part of its deal with Epic, but those plans appear to still be in the works outside the US, raising the possibility of two different methods to access third-party Android app stores depending on where you live.
