Google continues to modernize its commission policy on Google Play. She announced that she would reduce the commission from 30% to 15% for all applications with subscriptions — immediately from the first day of use.
Photo: Mika Baumeister from Unsplash
The new rules will work in the store from January 1, 2022.
Google Play still has similar subscription breaks, but they are more difficult to achieve. The standard commission for the purchase of a subscription is 30%. It is reduced to 15% only if the user pays for a subscription for more than 12 months in a row. The updated rules remove this condition. The commission for the purchase of a subscription will be immediately equal to 15%.
According to Sameer Samat, vice president of Google, it is difficult for developers to keep subscribers for so long.
“Subscriptions have become one of the fastest growing models for developers, but we know that they face particular challenges in attracting and retaining customers. Due to the outflow of users, developers cannot take advantage of the reduced commission. Therefore, we simplify the rules,” Samat explained Google’s decision.
As Bloomberg points out, the innovation in Google Play will have almost no effect on the income of game developers. Most games do not use subscriptions, instead applications are usually monetized through IAP (in-game purchases). The change in the rules is designed primarily for multimedia services, music or dating applications.
Google will also reduce the commission from 15% to 10% for participants of the Play Media Experience program. Only developers of applications for books, music and video streaming services can join this program. Moreover, their applications should have at least 100 thousand installations per month, high ratings and deep integration with other Google services.
Recall that in March Google announced plans to reduce the commission on Google Play from 30% to 15%, but only for the first million dollars of revenue. In July, the company also announced a temporary reduction in the commission in Stadia for the first $3 million in revenue.
All this is happening against the background of the growing attention of authorities around the world to mobile app stores. For example, in mid-September, South Korea adopted the so-called “Law against Google”. It prohibits Google and Apple from imposing their payment systems on developers.