The Vergecast · Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Google has been ordered to allow third-party app stores within its Play Store in the US following a legal defeat against Epic Games. This change, expected to take effect next week, could significantly alter the Android app landscape.
“Big changes are coming to the Google Play Store in the US. Google will start distributing rival app stores inside its own Android marketplace and those app stores will get access to every app that's inside Google's own stores too.”
“It's a wild shakeup that could meaningfully alter the app store landscape.”
“That means rival app stores can show up as soon as next Wednesday, July 24th.”