Google is finally letting a rival app store onto the Play Store

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Google Play is about to do something that would have sounded pretty strange not too long ago: let you download another app store from inside Google’s own app store. Aptoide has announced that Aptoide Games, its gaming-focused Android marketplace, is coming to Google Play in the US. That means you’ll be able to 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.

It’s one of the clearest signs yet that Google’s grip on Android app distribution is starting to loosen, and the long-running Epic Games fight has a lot to do with how we got here. Android has always been more open than an iPhone. You can install apps from outside Google Play, and alternative stores have existed for years. The problem is that the process still isn’t something the average person is likely to feel particularly comfortable with.

For instance, you want to try a game store that isn’t available on Google Play. You first have to find its website, download an APK, allow your browser to install unknown apps, work through Android’s warnings, and then install it. It is not particularly difficult, but Android’s security warnings can easily make the whole process feel more complicated than it needs to be. Aptoide Games coming directly to Google Play cuts out much of that friction. You’ll be able to discover and install a competing marketplace from the same place you already install WhatsApp, Spotify, or your banking app.

More recently, Google confirmed that qualifying third-party stores would be allowed onto the US Play Store through its new enrollment framework. At the same time, its Play Catalog Access program gives eligible marketplaces access to Google’s app catalog. Aptoide Games is therefore interesting because we’re beginning to see what a more competitive Android app ecosystem could actually look like in practice.

A gaming marketplace could offer different promotions, surface indie games that aren’t getting much attention elsewhere, or simply organize recommendations differently from Google Play. Developers, meanwhile, get another storefront through which they can potentially reach Android users without first asking those users to change security settings and sideload an APK. That last part is especially important — an alternative app store isn’t much of an alternative if getting people to install it is the biggest hurdle.

There is, of course, an obvious question whenever another Android app store enters the conversation: what about security? Aptoide says it has systems for scanning apps for malware, validating software, verifying developers, and automatically identifying potentially suspicious uploads. Users should still pay attention to what they’re installing, particularly when downloading apps from an unfamiliar developer, but having easier access to another marketplace doesn’t necessarily have to mean throwing security out the window.

To give you a clear idea, Aptoide was previously available on Google Play before changes to Google’s policies led to its removal. More than a decade later, it’s now returning to the Play Store. Aptoide has also been expanding beyond Android. It already operates an alternative iOS marketplace in the EU under the Digital Markets Act and is involved in similar programs as markets including Japan and Brazil push mobile platforms toward greater competition.