Google has already allowed users to download programs outside of the Play Store in accordance with the requirements of the EU Digital Markets Act, but is now introducing two new commissions for this purpose.
- The initial commission for purchases in the Play Store is 10% for in-app purchases or 5% for a two-year subscription.
- The ongoing commission is 17% for in-app purchases and 7% for subscriptions, which "reflects the value that the Play Store provides to users and developers, including current services such as parental controls, security scanning, fraud prevention, and ongoing app updates."
Developers can opt out of ongoing commissions after two years if users agree.
"As users purchased the application through the Play Store, hoping to receive services such as parental controls, security scanning, fraud prevention, and ongoing app updates, discontinuing the provision of services also requires user consent," Google said.
Google has added a table to show how commissions will be applied to a hypothetical third-party application:
Thus Google is using a similar approach to Apple, which reduced the commission of the App Store but introduced new fees: in particular, a new 3% commission for "payment processing" for transactions passing through its store and for "basic technology," which will charge a fixed fee of €0.50 for all app downloads after the first million installations.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has already reacted to Google's decision:
"Google has announced its nefarious plans to comply with the Digital Markets Act... it seems that their unlawful policy will be replaced by a new web transaction tax."
Earlier, Sweeney expressed similar sentiments towards Apple, which likely led to Epic's developer account being blocked in the App Store (it was through this account that the company planned to launch its own store for iOS).
Source: TechCrunch, Engadget
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