Will Google Play's new billing options actually make it easier for devs, and better for players?

• Google Play is set to slash billing fees for alternative payment processors
• It marks a reduction of fees overall, but some changes are less welcome, such as identity verification
• And the new incentives to developers smack a little of rewarding already popular releases

Since the fallout of the Epic v Apple lawsuit struck Google, we've seen the internet giant race to make many of the same changes its distinguished competition has been forced to make as well. Allowing for alternative billing options, loosening restrictions, and so on.

The most recent major change happened yesterday, with Google Play announcing it would allow for more billing options. Essentially, developers can now either offer alternative billing systems or direct players to their own webstore without incurring a fee...well, sort of.

But how does that affect you and me as average mobile gamers? Well, that's where it gets a bit complicated.

Billed and unbilled

Google haven't entirely erased billing on their end. All billing will still incur a 10% fee over the first $1m (and rising thereafter), and an additional 5% if using Google's own billing system. It's still a massive cut from the previous 30% fee that prompted Epic to attempt to upend Google and Apple's accused monopoly of the app stores.

It's also coming alongside some new, unwelcome changes for Android users. Google's planned rollout of identity verification this September has some developers unhappy, with third-party storefronts like F-Droid (remember this whole suite of changes is made to address Google's supposed suppression of third-party storefronts) voicing their concerns.

With that in mind, it can seem as if this latest change is less a massive overhaul and more business as usual for Google. Even their latest Google Play Games Level Up program will offer lowered service fees for games which make more money and offer a 'higher-quality' experience.

Now, I don't want to make this sound as if it's some sinister conspiracy. But, it does seem as if Google Play is leaning heavily into games that rake in more cash, rather than celebrating and elevating exciting new indie projects or those from smaller developers.

Identity verification does seem like a welcome enhancement to security, for example, but for those developers unable or unwilling to adhere to it, this change may seem like another major wall in the way of success on Google Play. And it hardly seems likely to upend all the issues that Epic claimed they had with Google.

Ultimately, for us regular players, this seems like a relatively benign change. But I do think that behind the scenes, it could have a knock-on effect on developers who don't have the benefit of leaning into naturally higher-earning genres such as gacha.

As such, while these fees and other changes will be welcomed by many existing devs, I can't help but worry that we, as regular players, will see a reduction in what has been an exciting spike in indie games and projects from smaller devs due to these changes. Here's hoping I'm wrong, but it wouldn't be the first time these sweeping changes have resulted in unwelcome hassle.