Aptoide becomes first rival app store to return to Google Play in US

Aptoide has become the first rival app store to return to Google Play in the United States, ending a more than decade-long absence from the platform. The Portugal-based app distributor launched its games store on Google Play on Monday, marking a significant shift in the US app market that allows users to install competing Android app stores directly from Google Play itself.

The return follows court-ordered changes stemming from the Epic Games lawsuit, which require Google to allow third-party app stores to access the Play Catalog Access Program. As of 22 June 2026, Google began allowing third-party app stores to access Google Play’s app catalog through this program. This infrastructure change enables competitors to access Google Play’s app catalog while remaining independent stores.

Prior to this regulatory shift, Aptoide had to be sideloaded on Android devices, a process that limited its reach in the US, which is now its largest market to date. The new arrangement removes these barriers, allowing the distributor to offer its more than 40,000 Android applications to approximately 25 million monthly active users globally through a more accessible channel.

The legal precedent for this change was established when US District Judge James Donato ruled in the Epic Games lawsuit. The ruling requires Google to allow the installation of third-party apps from outside the Play Store. Epic Games first sued Google in 2020, alleging anticompetitive abuses in the Android app ecosystem, with a jury trial in 2023 ruling in Epic’s favour. Google’s subsequent appeal was unsuccessful.

Earlier this year, Google announced it would drop Play Store commissions and make it easier for Android users to install alternative app stores. Aptoide’s launch represents the first practical application of these loosened restrictions, which had previously been criticized as anticompetitive by industry observers.