Google Just Rewrote the Rules for Android Payments. Here’s What It Means for Game Publishers

Google just made one of the biggest structural changes to Android monetization in years.

Under a new settlement, the traditional 30% Play Store fee is effectively being dismantled and replaced with a new structure that separates platform service fees from billing fees.

For mobile game publishers, this confirms something that has been unfolding over the past year: Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is no longer a side experiment but a permanent, native fixture of the app lifecycle.

In this article, I want to break down what actually changed, why it matters, and how publishers should think about their monetization strategy going forward.

From “Wild West" to a Structured System

For the past couple of years, mobile payments have been in what many of us described as a Wild West phase.

Following new regulations, publishers suddenly gained the ability to experiment with app-to-web payment links, allowing transactions by US players to happen outside platform billing with 0% platform fees.

Everyone knew this window would not last forever. At some point, the platforms would bring structure to the system and formalize the DTC shift.

What Actually Changed

The key change is that Google is proposing to restructure how it charges developers.

Historically, Android operated with a single bundled commission that could reach 30%. Under the new model, Google is separating distribution services from billing infrastructure.

Developers who use Google Play’s billing technology will now pay roughly a 5% billing fee, while the platform’s service fee for distribution ranges between 15% and 20% depending on install conditions.

At the same time, developers will have greater flexibility to integrate alternative payment flows more naturally into the app experience - a very positive development.

In practice, publishers were already experimenting with multiple purchase paths - in-app billing, app-to-web payment links, and external web stores. What this decision does is formalize that reality.

Instead of operating in a regulatory gray zone, publishers now have a clearer, globalized (rather than regionally fragmented) framework for designing how players move between these purchase paths.

In addition, Google is introducing a Registered App Stores program, designed to make installing alternative app stores easier for users. This further expands distribution options and strengthens the DTC 2.0 ecosystem we’ve talked about before. 

What Comes Next

We’re working closely with our partners to ensure their DTC strategies are aligned with these changes.

However, it’s important to note that this transition still requires formal approval. For the US market, the settlement must first pass the fairness hearing on April 9, 2026. Until then, the current conditions remain unchanged - including the 0% platform fees on Payment Links for US users.

If approved, the rollout will happen gradually across regions. The new framework is expected to begin in the US, UK, and EEA by June 30, with additional markets following in phases through 2027.

Final thoughts

Over the past year, Payment Links gave publishers a rare opportunity to experiment with DTC at scale. That period generated valuable insights into how players behave when given alternative purchase paths.

But if implemented, Google’s new framework raises an important question around the long-term economics of app-to-web Payment Links, which were previously able to operate with 0% platform fees in the US. 

For publishers thinking about durable DTC strategies, that makes one thing increasingly clear: web stores remain the most stable and scalable foundation for long-term DTC monetization.

Our analysis of $700M in DTC transactions processed through the Appcharge platform shows that the average order value on web stores is roughly 3x higher than on Payment Links.

More importantly, web stores create the conditions for repeat purchase behavior to compound over time - second purchase, third purchase, fourth purchase and beyond.

In other words, while the industry experimented with new DTC mechanics like Payment Links over the past year, the long-term monetization engine remains web stores.

The publishers who build strong web store ecosystems now will be best positioned for the next phase of mobile game commerce.