Aptoide has become the first competing Android app store to return to Google Play in the U.S., following changes that opened Google’s marketplace to rival app distributors.
The Portugal-based company brought its games store back to Google Play on Monday after an absence of more than a decade. The move means U.S. Android users can install a competing app marketplace directly from Google Play instead of sideloading it onto their devices.
Aptoide operates one of the largest independent Android marketplaces outside Google Play, offering more than 40,000 apps to approximately 25 million monthly active users. The U.S. is its largest market, but the previous sideloading requirement had limited its ability to reach Android users.
Epic Games lawsuit opened Google Play
The change follows U.S. District Judge James Donato’s ruling in Epic Games’ antitrust case against Google, which required the company to loosen restrictions around third-party Android apps and competing app stores.
Starting June 22, 2026, Google began allowing third-party stores to access the Google Play app catalogue through its Play Catalogue Access Program. Rival marketplaces can use Google Play infrastructure and offer apps from its catalogue while continuing to operate independently.
Epic Games sued Google in 2020, accusing the company of anticompetitive practices within the Android app ecosystem. A jury sided with Epic in 2023, and Google later lost its appeal.
Earlier this year, Google also said it would eliminate Play Store commissions and make it easier for Android users to install alternative app stores. Aptoide’s return is the first major example of a competing marketplace taking advantage of those changes in the U.S.
