Google Play reduces the commission from 30% to 15% on the first million dollars for all companies
On July 1, Google will reduce the commission in the mobile Play store to 15%. As in the case of Apple, there were some reservations, but they are of a completely different nature.
According to Google’s official announcement, now every first million dollars for a calendar year will be subject to a commission of 15%. From any amount that the publisher earns over a million, Google, as before, will take 30%. This rule will apply to all companies regardless of their size and revenue for the year.
Recall that in November last year, Apple announced a similar reduction in the commission. But the conditions for reducing the commission from the “apple” company are more complicated. An iOS developer will receive a 15% commission only if his revenue for the previous year was less than $1 million. Plus, if he starts receiving more than a million at any time, he is again taxed at the standard rate.
So it turns out that Google’s approach is not only simpler, but also more elegant. And this is well understood in the company. As Sameer Samat, Google’s vice president of product management, writes: “Thanks to such a change, 99% of developers selling digital goods and services around the world will feel a 50% reduction in commission.”
The current announcement can be linked to the situation around the confrontation of mobile markets with Epic Games, which accuses both Apple and Google of “anticompetitive restrictions on the app distribution market and the digital payments market.” Simply put, the “epics” are dissatisfied with the fact that a large commission is charged from IAP in mobile stores, and it is forbidden to sell content directly to users.
It is believed that the reduction of the commission by Apple was a response to the complex litigation between the companies. And now a similar measure already from Google may also be an attempt to strengthen its position in future litigation.
However, TechCrunch journalists believe that the commission reduction could be Google’s reaction to the situation in India. In September 2020, the company updated its payment policy. According to her, she stopped allowing the presence of apps with their own billing in the Play Store. It became possible to use only the one provided by Google (and which takes a commission of 30%).
This was especially painfully perceived in India. It got to the point that 150 companies joined together in a consortium to develop their own Android store. Against the background of such a negative reaction, Google even postponed the introduction of a new payment policy in India until 2022. Now she is reducing the commission.
