China's XD, which offers an app store for games with no commissions on in-app sales, plans to expand globally, as Apple and Google's commissions draw criticism
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg : Tweets: @pingroma Tweets: Zheping Huang / @pingroma : China's biggest indie game distributor XD aims to introduce its novel zero-commission app store model to global users as revenue at home decline. TapTap platform seeks to match global user base with China's, says @DashHuang https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
XD's TapTap has spent years positioning itself as the anti-app-store in China: a Steam-like distributor that bypasses the dominant stores and takes no cut of in-app sales, backed by Bilibili's HK$960M stake when mobile games were 40% of Bilibili's revenue. The model worked while home-market growth did.
Now the pressure is twofold. Domestic revenue is declining, part of the same squeeze that has Chinese game makers rushing into the US and other overseas markets as approvals tighten at home. Meanwhile the 50% default splits that pushed Tencent to pull Dungeon & Fighter Mobile from Android app stores show publishers actively chafing at commissions — the opening TapTap wants to sell into globally.
First-order effects
- Apple and Google face a new competitor whose entire pitch is their weakest point: a game storefront with zero commission on in-app purchases, aimed at exactly the developers most vocal about the 30% (and China's 50%) cuts.
- XD shifts its growth burden abroad — matching its global user base to China's becomes the stated goal as domestic revenue falls.
Second-order effects
- Publishers already testing store leverage — Tencent removing a hit title from Android stores rather than accept the split — gain an alternative shelf to threaten incumbents with, weakening the gatekeepers' hold on top games.
- If TapTap gains traction outside China, rival Android storefronts and OEM stores must compete on take rate rather than preinstallation, pressuring commission structures industry-wide.
Third-order effects
- The pattern points toward game distribution decoupling from OS-level app stores on Android first, with commission levels becoming a negotiated market variable instead of a fixed platform tax — and regulators already scrutinizing Apple and Google's fees likely accelerating that shift.
The trend: App store commissions are shifting from an enforced platform standard to a contested variable, with third-party storefronts like TapTap exporting zero-commission models just as regulators and top publishers challenge Apple and Google's cuts.