It seems like yesterday when Fortnite developerEpic Games dragged Google to courtalleging Play Store billing practices for in-app purchases (IAPs) were unfair to app developers. Since then, legislators in various countries around the world have investigated Google’s practices and ruled mostly in favor of the app developers. Now, Google Play billing in the UK could change, leaving independent developers free to choose billing systems that suit them best.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has beeninvestigating Googlesince June 2022 for the same reasonSouth Korea,India, the US, and the rest ofEurope investigatedthe company — the hefty fee it charges developers for every IAP made using the Google Play billing system. Google’s mostrecent proposalsuggests developers use any billing system of their choice, or give the purchaser a choice between Play billing and a third-party alternative.
Devs choosing to avoid Play billing aren’t getting away scot-free, though. Google will still levy a service fee for distributing content through the Play Store, money which supposedly keeps Android alive. If an app gives users the choice between billing systems, Google suggests reducing the fee on every developer’s declared IAP earnings by 4%. Meanwhile, the concession is only 3% if devs choose to keep Google Play billing out of the picture completely.
Google’s “tax” on IAP earnings starts at 15% for the first $1 million developers earn in a year, then balloons to 30% for any earnings after that. So, in retrospect, a reduction of 3–4% is hardly a discount for any indie developer already struggling to make ends meet after platform fees, taxes, and commissions chip away at their modest IAP earnings. To Google’s credit, South Korea was okay with a 3–4% concession in Google tax, but we are yet to see which way the UK sways.
Presently, theCMA is welcoming suggestionsfrom the public on critical points of Google’s proposal, like the process developers use for reporting IAP income, the proposed reduction in IAP fees, user-facing screens for this change, and ways to monitor Google’s adherence to its proposal. Interested parties have until May 19 to file their suggestions.
A lot remains to be set in stone and implemented in the UK, so Google is off the hook for now. However, the company says a phased rollout of the decided changes for apps should begin by October this year, starting with non-gaming apps.
