Shop-within-a-shop: Aptoide Games becomes the first third-party store in Google Play

Aptoide announced the launch of the Aptoide Games store directly within Google Play. Users in the US can already find and install the competing platform through the official Android store without manually downloading an APK file from the developers' website.

Aptoide Games has become the first third-party app store available through Google Play's new system for alternative platforms. The company considers the launch an important step towards more open app distribution on Android, and in the future, a similar approach could allow other competitors to appear in Google Play.

The changes are a result of a multi-year legal dispute between Google and Epic Games. The court ordered Google to allow third-party stores into Google Play and provide compliant platforms with access to the app catalog. Following this, the company launched a special registration program for competing services.

Aptoide has not yet disclosed the launch dates for Aptoide Games in other regions.