My guest on this episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast is Archie Stonehill, the Head of Product at Stash, a D2C and web shop enablement tool for mobile game developers. Prior to Stash, Archie was an investor at Makers Fund, a venture capital fund investing in the gaming ecosystem.

In this episode, among other topics, Archie and I discuss:

The history of alternative mobile app stores, starting most prominently with Epic's Project Liberty and progressing through those lawsuits, as well as Google's settlement with states' attorneys general;
The current state of affairs with respect to alternative app stores and alternative in-app payments;
The size of the "shadow IAP economy" on mobile, enabled by web shops;
How much traction do you think alternative app marketplaces will see in the EU under the auspices of the DMA, including the four that are live now: AltStore Pal, the Aptoide games store, Mobivention, and SetApp Mobile;
The key advantages of web shops over platform storefronts;
How developers can overcome the conversion friction inherent in moving users to alternative storefronts.

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Season 3, Episode 18: The future of alternative app stores and payments (with Archie Stonehill)

Mobile Dev Memo Podcast

Season 3, Episode 18: The future of alternative app stores and payments (with Archie Stonehill)