Google today announced details of fees associated with its plans to comply with Europe's new Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to increase competition across the app store ecosystem. Google noted yesterday that it is already DMA compliant, including by allowing sideloading of apps, but has not yet provided details on the fees that will apply to developers, with further details expected this week. said.
After all, the time is now.
Today, Google announced that there are two fees that apply to the External Offers program, which were also announced yesterday. This new program allows Play Store developers to drive users in the EEA outside of their apps, including promoting offers.
These fees will put Google on the same path as Apple. Apple has reduced its App Store fees in the EU to comply with the DMA, but new core technologies that require a developer to pay him 0.50 euros for each installation in the first year of his Introduced a fee. The threshold for apps distributed outside the App Store is 1 million. Apple believes that the services it provides to developers go beyond payment processing, including work to support app creation and discovery, the creation of APIs, frameworks and tools to support developers' app creation efforts, and fraud and fraud protection. He justified the fee by explaining that it included support work such as fighting.
Google has taken a similar tactic and today says, “Google Play's service fees were never just payment processing fees. They reflect the value that Android and Play provide, and they are “We support continued investment and developer features that users and people rely on,” the blog post states.
External Offer Program transactions are subject to two fees:
Initial acquisition fee is 10% for in-app purchases and 5% for 2-year subscription. Google says this fee represents the value Play provided in driving initial user acquisition through the Play Store. Ongoing Service Fees. 17% for in-app purchases and 7% for subscriptions. This reflects the “broad value that Play provides to users and developers, including ongoing services such as parental controls, security scanning, fraud protection, and continuous app updates,” Google wrote. Masu.
Notably, developers can opt out of ongoing services and corresponding fees after two years if the user consents. Opting out requires user consent, as users who initially installed the app believe that services such as parental controls, security scans, fraud prevention, and continuous app updates are available to them. Is required. Google allows developers to end this fee, but these ongoing services will also no longer apply. However, developers are still responsible for reporting transactions involving users who continue to receive Play Store services.
Image credit: Google
Google today shared more examples of how this pricing structure would play out in practice, and explained the possibilities developers have, including whether the program is opt-in or opt-out (only the former) and when it applies. Answered a series of general questions. For games and apps alike (yes), whether developers can opt-in for only parts of the app (yes), and other technology integration details. Developers will need to register for the program as companies, not individuals. The company also noted that developers can continue to use Google Play's billing system while participating in external offers his program.
Apart from the external offers program, Google also launched two other programs this week that enable alternative billing systems for in-app purchases. And this week, these will be extended to all developers who provide apps to EEA users.