> Interesting, do you have a link for that?

https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/19/22632806/google-epic-prem...

They adopt the Google framing that they were "being paid" to exclude third party stores, but that's a subjective description. If you get paid X for search revenue and you get Y less if you include third party app stores, that's a penalty.

> The network effect never existed on desktop and Steam is doing just fine competing with the Microsoft Store.

Stores inherently have a network effect. To get users you need apps; to get apps you need users. That's a network effect. Which is why, if you can keep alternate stores off of most devices, you can suppress them.

Microsoft, for all their other faults, wasn't doing that, which is why Steam on Windows is a thing but Steam on Android is conspicuously lacking.

> F-Droid is widely used

No it isn't. It's good, but it has ~0% market share.

> convincing developers/publishers to use your app store is.

This is exactly the issue. Google put up barriers to getting people to use them.

> Then things like localisation, payment, distribution, and in-app purchases pop up, which are technical challenges that are much harder to solve.

None of these are that hard. Payments are the most difficult and every company that sells something still manages it somehow.

> There's a reason Steam and GOG are essentially the only independent software stores left for video games other than buying games from publishers directly.

Video games weren't traditionally sold through "software stores" to begin with. You'd just buy them directly from the publisher. Which is the other thing Google suppresses on Android. Try downloading an Android app directly from the publisher's website the same as people do with games on Windows and see how many hoops you have to jump through.