Sources: Huawei, which is considering taking a cut of in-app purchases on HarmonyOS, nears a deal with Tencent to exclude WeChat from revenue sharing
Context & Ripple Effects
Huawei's reported plan to charge for HarmonyOS in-app purchases followed discussions of a roughly 20% fee with game developers, signaling a move to formalize platform monetization. A WeChat exemption would make Tencent the pivotal early test of how broadly that policy can be applied.
The companies have already shown that revenue splits can disrupt distribution: Huawei briefly removed Tencent games during a prior dispute over app-store revenue sharing. That history gives a WeChat carve-out significance beyond a single app.
First-order effects
- Huawei and Tencent appear close to preserving WeChat's in-app purchase economics on HarmonyOS by excluding it from the proposed revenue-sharing arrangement.
- Huawei would enter HarmonyOS monetization with a differentiated policy: it could pursue fees elsewhere while avoiding a direct commercial clash with one of its most important app partners.
Second-order effects
- Other large developers, especially those with indispensable user reach or content, gain a concrete precedent for seeking bespoke terms rather than accepting a uniform HarmonyOS fee.
- A WeChat exception could narrow Huawei's initial fee base and shift negotiations toward the commercial value each app brings to the platform, rather than a single published take rate.
Third-order effects
- If repeated across major apps, app-store economics may become more bilateral: nominal platform commissions remain important, but strategic distribution partners can secure exemptions or lower effective rates.
- The episode points to a continuing tension in platform governance between monetizing transactions and retaining essential services; the eventual balance will depend on Huawei's ability to enforce terms without weakening HarmonyOS's app proposition.
The trend: Mobile platforms are increasingly treating take rates as negotiable strategic tools when must-have apps have enough leverage to affect ecosystem adoption.