Google starts lowering Play Store fees, making good on Epic Games settlement

谷歌开始降低 Play Store 费用，履行与 Epic Games 的和解协议

Google spent the last few years locked in a legal grudge match with Epic Games, which claimed that Google’s stewardship of the Play Store was anticompetitive. Now, the companies are thick as thieves, and Google is beginning to implement app store changes as agreed in its settlement with Epic. The lower developer fees and new payment options that Google promised are rolling out in select markets this month before expanding.

过去几年里，谷歌一直与 Epic Games 陷入法律纠纷，后者指控谷歌对 Play Store 的管理存在反竞争行为。如今，两家公司已达成和解，谷歌也开始落实双方协议中约定的应用商店变更。谷歌承诺的降低开发者费用和新的支付选项将于本月在部分市场率先推出，随后逐步推广至全球。

Until a few years ago, Google followed an Apple-like approach to app store billing, charging most developers a 30 percent commission for transactions in the Play Store. That was the only option, too. Directing users to make purchases outside the store was not allowed, and that’s what got Epic in hot water in 2020. Epic added cheaper external billing to the Android and iOS versions of Fortnite, getting the game pulled from both stores and prompting a lawsuit.

直到几年前，谷歌还采取类似苹果的应用商店计费模式，对 Play Store 内的大多数交易向开发者收取 30% 的佣金。而且这是唯一的选择。谷歌不允许引导用户在商店外进行购买，这正是 Epic 在 2020 年陷入困境的原因。Epic 在《堡垒之夜》的安卓和 iOS 版本中加入了更便宜的外部支付方式，导致该游戏被两家商店下架，并引发了诉讼。

Apple managed to (mostly) win its case, but Google tripped up in how it tried to control the Play Store while keeping a more open appearance. The judge in the case was set to impose some dramatic remedies in 2024, including forcing Google to distribute third-party app stores in Google Play. The settlement, which Google has noted will end its dispute with Epic globally, doesn’t go that far. However, developers are about to get the promised fee reductions.

苹果公司（基本）赢得了诉讼，但谷歌在试图保持“开放”形象的同时控制 Play Store 的做法上却栽了跟头。该案法官原定于 2024 年实施一些重大补救措施，包括强制谷歌在 Google Play 中分发第三方应用商店。谷歌表示，此次和解将结束其与 Epic 在全球范围内的纠纷，虽然和解条款并未达到法官预期的程度，但开发者们即将获得承诺的费用减免。

Starting on June 30, developers in Europe, the UK, and the US will have access to the new fee structure. This system will split the commission into two components: billing and service fees. The biggest win for small developers is the new flat 10 percent service fee for the first $1 million in earnings every year. Above that, the rate for various transaction types may reach 25 percent on existing installs. Apps installed after June 30 will top out at 20 percent.

从 6 月 30 日起，欧洲、英国和美国的开发者将可以使用新的费用结构。该系统将佣金分为两部分：计费服务费和平台服务费。对于小型开发者来说，最大的利好是每年首个 100 万美元的收入仅需缴纳 10% 的固定服务费。超过此金额后，针对现有安装应用的各种交易类型，费率最高可达 25%。6 月 30 日之后安装的应用，费率上限则为 20%。

Developers will finally be allowed to send users outside the Play Store to complete a transaction, too. Google says they can design a choice screen “in accordance with our UX guidelines” to direct users to these external options. Devs pay the standard service fee on these purchases, but they’ll avoid the billing fee.

开发者最终也将被允许引导用户跳转至 Play Store 外部完成交易。谷歌表示，开发者可以“按照我们的用户体验指南”设计选择界面，将用户引导至这些外部选项。开发者在这些交易中仍需支付标准服务费，但可以免除计费服务费。

All transactions that run through Google’s Play Store platform add a 5 percent billing fee—even the base rate for publishers earning less than $1 million. Google notes that the billing fee is set at 5 percent in the initial markets, but it could be different in other regions.

所有通过谷歌 Play Store 平台进行的交易都将增加 5% 的计费服务费——即使是对于年收入低于 100 万美元的发行商的基础费率也是如此。谷歌指出，计费服务费在首批市场设定为 5%，但在其他地区可能会有所不同。

More changes coming

更多变更即将到来

The June 30 start date was stipulated in the settlement for the initial markets, but Google will eventually make these changes global. Australia will join the new fee structure on September 30, and on December 31, Japan and Korea will be on board. All other regions will move to the new system on September 30, 2027.

6 月 30 日的启动日期是和解协议中针对首批市场的规定，但谷歌最终会将这些变更推广至全球。澳大利亚将于 9 月 30 日加入新的费用结构，日本和韩国将于 12 月 31 日加入。所有其他地区将于 2027 年 9 月 30 日迁移至新系统。

Google is also working on changes to programs, known as the Games Level Up and Apps Experience, that can offer developers a fee break. The game program already exists, offering increased Play Store visibility in exchange for implementing more Google Play features. It will soon include a lower transaction fee, too. The Apps Experience program is new and will offer a similar deal for non-game content in Google Play. These programs will be available to developers in Europe, the UK, Australia, and the US on September 30 of this year. They will open to developers in other countries as they are added to the new billing system.

谷歌还在对“游戏升级（Games Level Up）”和“应用体验（Apps Experience）”计划进行调整，这些计划可以为开发者提供费用减免。游戏计划已经存在，通过增加 Play Store 的曝光度来换取开发者实现更多的 Google Play 功能。该计划很快也将包含更低的交易费。应用体验计划则是全新的，将为 Google Play 中的非游戏内容提供类似的优惠。这些计划将于今年 9 月 30 日向欧洲、英国、澳大利亚和美国的开发者开放。随着其他国家加入新的计费系统，这些计划也将向当地开发者开放。

All in all, these updates will help developers eke out a little more revenue on Google’s platform, but they don’t change the game. Google is still firmly in control of the Android software ecosystem, and it’s still getting a cut of every sale. That may change when Google gets around to the next phase of the settlement, which isn’t mentioned in today’s announcement. Under the terms of the settlement, Google must also certify third-party app stores and allow them to operate more like the Play Store on devices. That may take longer to implement, particularly as Google also begins enforcing developer verification over the coming months.

总而言之，这些更新将帮助开发者在谷歌平台上获得更多一点收入，但并没有改变游戏规则。谷歌依然牢牢掌控着安卓软件生态系统，并继续从每一笔销售中抽成。当谷歌进入和解协议的下一阶段时，情况可能会有所改变，但今天的公告中并未提及这一点。根据和解条款，谷歌还必须认证第三方应用商店，并允许它们在设备上更像 Play Store 一样运行。这可能需要更长的时间来实施，尤其是考虑到谷歌在未来几个月内还将开始强制执行开发者验证。