Sensor Tower information suggests 37 of the 50 top-grossing Play Retailer video games featured loot bins in October 2025.
Underneath Google’s new coverage, all of October’s prime 50 grossers might face the brand new 20% payment on all or a few of their in-app purchases, primarily based on our investigation.
Charges might be decided by how advantageous a sport’s purchases are for a participant, however the specifics aren’t clear-cut.
Keep Knowledgeable
Get Business Information In Your Inbox…
Signal Up In the present day
All of October’s US prime grossing cell video games on Android within the US might face the best tier of Google Play Retailer charges beneath a brand new proposal by Google and Epic Video games that might shake up the way in which titles monetise, a PocketGamer.biz investigation has uncovered.
Following the years-long battle between Google and Epic, during which Google was labelled a monopoly, the US Play Retailer was cracked open just lately with an injunction stopping {the marketplace} from blocking different funds, linkouts and rival shops.
Each corporations have now filed a proposed modification that will search to make substantial adjustments to the injunction. Google and Epic wish to make Play Retailer adjustments globally, reasonably than simply within the US.
As a substitute of a blanket discount in Google’s income minimize, a brand new payment might be utilized to video games that may fluctuate by the kind of in-app buy they promote.
If purchases present “greater than a de minimis gameplay benefit” – which incorporates however isn’t restricted to purchases that impression sport outcomes, gameplay progress or participant energy, or purchases with random outcomes akin to loot bins – they may face a 20% payment.
Titles that “don’t present greater than a de minimis gameplay benefit” – which incorporates content material, ranges, occasions or beauty objects, or in-app subscriptions for apps – will face a 9% payment.
Google will even cost individually for its personal billing service, which is about at 5%. That is just like what direct-to-consumer platforms cost.
How video games monetise
Epic’s Fortnite monetises largely by means of cosmetics – particularly named within the injunction modification – which seemingly brings it in keeping with the 9% royalty payment. It’s price noting, nevertheless, that new adjustments to Fortnite are set to deliver in-island transactions to the sport, which might function several types of monetisation.
PocketGamer.biz investigated how the brand new charges, primarily based on our understanding of their implementation, would impression the highest 50 grossing US Google Play cell video games in October 2025.
Our investigation discovered that the entire prime 50 titles would seemingly face the 20% cost on all or a few of their IAPs. Most video games usually function in-app purchases that may impression gameplay outcomes, akin to lowering timers, acquiring boosters, or gaining new characters with highly effective skills. The latter could possibly be a gray space, nevertheless, relying on how “gameplay benefit” is outlined.
Monetisation fashions in October 2025’s highest-grossing video games on the US Play Retailer, as per Sensor Tower information.
Based on Sensor Tower information, 37 of the 50 highest-earning video games on the Play Retailer this October featured loot bins. These included FirstFun’s Final Struggle: Survival, Scopely’s Monopoly Go, and DeNA’s Pokémon TCG Pocket within the type of card packs.
Loot bins can comprise numerous objects, from cosmetics to uncommon, highly effective or helpful rewards like a weapon or character.
12 of the highest 50 video games final month featured gachas, akin to HoYoverse’s Genshin Impression and Cygames’ Umamusume: Fairly Derby.
In the meantime, 21 of October’s prime 50 Play Retailer video games featured monetised timers, permitting gamers to skip cooldowns. Such video games included Century Video games’ Kingshot and Microfun’s Gossip Harbor: Merge & Story.
Boosters, like Sweet Crush’s Lollipop Hammer or Royal Hammers in Royal Match that make ranges simpler to finish, can be bought in a few of the world’s prime cell video games. Whereas Sensor Tower doesn’t present information on boosters particularly, these are usually consumable objects. 31 of the highest 50 video games featured monetised consumables final month.
A high-quality line
There’s at present some confusion round precisely how Google would handle these adjustments and what constitutes a gameplay benefit for sure IAPs. Google and Epic’s proposal provides some readability to titles providing various varieties of purchases:
“For an in-app or linked buy of digital foreign money which can be utilized to acquire a number of sorts of things whose service charges differ, the upper service payment might apply till and except a portion of the digital foreign money use might be attributed and pro-rated to objects bearing the decrease service payment.”
What denotes a bonus isn’t clear-cut. A battle move could possibly be advantageous, for instance, if finishing its bonus missions results in distinctive or helpful rewards.
Although, if buying a battle move doesn’t outright purchase these rewards, however reasonably duties gamers with finishing premium challenges to earn them, then whether or not that lands at a 9% or 20% payment is unclear.
In-app subscriptions are highlighted for instance of enterprise fashions that might see a 9% payment utilized. However there are circumstances the place the implementation can see a gameplay benefit, doubtlessly opening them to increased royalties.
In Pokémon TCG Pocket – one of many greatest cell sport launches of the previous few years – a subscribed participant can open three “free” card packs per day as an alternative of two, giving them extra makes an attempt at acquiring uncommon playing cards that may then be utilized in PvP.
Starter packs may be thought of advantageous. The aim of such packs is usually to supply new gamers with objects as both an early enhance or to assist them shut the hole in direction of others who’ve performed for longer. Starter packs had been current in 45 of the highest 50 video games final month.
In lots of gachas, gamers can construct ample groups to compete with out ever spending, which means acquiring the most recent character doesn’t all the time strictly imply a bonus.
However, in lots of circumstances the brand new gacha characters can have highly effective new expertise that outcompete even the best-built older models, with monetisation fashions constructed round encouraging gamers to maintain rolling for the most recent powerhouse.
Some gachas are extra on-the-nose with new unit benefits, akin to Fireplace Emblem Heroes giving the most recent gacha characters a bonus in its Area mode for his or her first few weeks post-release. Pokémon Masters, in the meantime, encompasses a rewards multiplier if related characters are used to finish an occasion, with the most recent premium gacha characters usually bringing one of the best multipliers.
All the way down to the definition
Some video games have extra complexities in how Google’s charges might be utilized. In Pokémon Go, foreign money might be spent on a brand new outfit, a Raid Ticket, Poké Balls or a mixture of those. With monetisation fashions constructed deeply into sport design, it could possibly be a posh job for a developer and Google to calculate income share.
Many social on line casino video games require cash to proceed betting and assist unlock new video games, which might be obtained without cost or by buying them. One monetisation knowledgeable informed Pocketgamer.biz that as social video games often promote additional foreign money and cosmetics, they’d count on the previous to be thought of gameplay-affecting and the latter not.
In relation to beauty IAPs, Sensor Tower information reveals 28 of the highest 50 grossing video games final month had been discovered to function beauty gross sales.
Epic and Google’s new proposal notes that the tech large “might cost the upper service payment for a bundle that features objects topic to 2 totally different service charges”. Particular person transactions by means of digital foreign money might be attributed and pro-rated to objects bearing the decrease service payment.
If Google solely expenses video games monetised particularly with loot bins, gacha mechanics or consumable objects at 20%, 43 video games out of October’s prime 50 grossers would face the upper cost.
The income share will rely largely on how Google implements the brand new coverage and the way these guidelines evolve over time with new monetisation fashions.
Google and Epic didn’t reply to a request for remark and clarification on the principles in time for publication.
Be taught the most recent concerning the regulatory panorama for cell app shops at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January nineteenth and twentieth, 2026.
