Google has left its Google Play app store without a billing system for the territory of the Russian Federation, so Russian users cannot purchase any app or game and Russian developers do not receive their rewards.
It has thinned out in the Russian market since the reactions of multinational companies and their withdrawal of services and products from Russia. However, Russians are looking for alternatives to individual services, and the Google Play app store is no different. A new alternative to the app store in the Russian market is to be NashStore (loosely translated as “Our Store”). The planned launch of the new store should be on Victory Day, which in Russia falls on May 9.
“Unfortunately, Russians can no longer normally use Google Play to buy apps and developers have lost their source of income”, said Vladimir Zykov, director of projects at Digital Platforms, an organisation focused on digital development.
Russian developers have started working on NashStore due to Google suspending the billing system in the case of its Google Play. This resulted in Russian users not being able to purchase their apps and games from the store, and at the same time, Russian developers lost revenue.
Since Visa and MasterCard no longer operate in Russia, NashStore should be linked to the Mir payment system. It wouldn’t be the country’s first local app market though, as local tech giant Yandex previously offered the Yandex Store as an alternative Android app repository.