Aptoide has become the first rival Android app store to return to Google Play in the US, marking a significant step in opening up the mobile app market to competition. The Portugal-based company relaunched its games store on Google Play on Monday, more than a decade after it was forced off the platform, following a loosening of restrictions that critics had long viewed as anticompetitive.

The change follows US District Judge James Donato's ruling in Epic Games' antitrust lawsuit against Google, which requires Google to allow installation of third-party apps from outside the Play Store. Since 22 June 2026, Google has let rival stores access its app catalogue through a new Play Catalog Access Program. Aptoide, which offers more than 40,000 apps to roughly 25 million monthly active users, previously relied on sideloading to reach US users, its largest market; Epic first sued Google in 2020, won at trial in 2023, and Google subsequently lost its appeal.