Following a long battle in court, Google has opened the floodgates to third-party app store distribution via the Play Store in the US.
Starting with just a single option, Aptoide Games, the Google Play Store will host and install third-party app and game stores on Android. This applies solely in the United States and third-party stores won’t show up everywhere – they’re only accessible via links or direct searches.
Google explains on a support page:
You can discover and download third-party app stores through a dedicated landing page in the Play Store. This is accessible via deep-links, your account menu in Google Play, the apps category page or via search queries (e.g., searching for “App Store” or for a specific store).
Google adds that it “enforces its policies” from the Play Store on third-party stores, but that Google does not “review every app in these stores” nor manage updates or payments.
