Google has announced that it is cutting down its app fees by 15 percent on the first one million dollars the developers make on Google’s play store per year. Once the app sales cross the one million mark, the developer will be charged the standard 30 percent fee for downloads and in-app purchases.
The fee reduction will apply to all developers, even those who make millions of dollars every year. This differs from Apple’s policy, which seeks to reduce the fees exclusively for companies that make under one million dollars every year.
“With this change, 99% of developers globally that sell digital goods and services with Play will see a 50% reduction in fees,” Google VP Sameer Samat said in a blog post. “These are funds that can help developers scale up at a critical phase of their growth by hiring more engineers, adding to their marketing staff, increasing server capacity, and more.”
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The move will address some developer complaints that have highlighted the discrepancies in the app store’s fees as well as ownership of operating systems.
Epic Games has taken the tech Giant to court for removing its Fortnite game from the Google Play store, accusing them of monopolizing app payments.
“While a reduction in the Google app tax may alleviate a small part of the financial burden developers have been shouldering, this does not address the root of the issue,” an Epic Games representative said in a statement
“Whether it’s 15% or 30%, for apps obtained through the Google Play Store, developers are forced to use Google’s in-app payment services.”
Google is also under scrutiny by US legislatures in the U.S. who have forwarded bills proposing bills the regulation Google’s and Apple’s app stores.
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