Games Might Be Lost as Amazon Is Set to Discontinue Its App Store on Android

15 hours ago 3

By

Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men's Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.

Oliver Brandt

Contributing Pop Culture Writer

Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors

Amazon has announced that it will discontinue its app store on Android, setting August 20, 2025, as the deadline for operations. As the company confirmed, this may lead to apps and games users downloaded through the store losing their functionality.

Amazon Coins, a currency used to make in-app purchases or app purchases on the store, are no longer being sold as of February 20, 2025, but anyone with a positive balance can still spend them until operations cease. Unused Amazon Coins bought in the past will be refunded after August 20, the company promised. Details around the process are set to be forthcoming "at a later date," according to the official FAQ about the shutdown. You can also download the APK for the app store from this link, allowing you to install it on your Android phone.

Amazon logo
The Amazon logo on a white background. Amazon

It's important to note that Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices will still have access to the app store — only the Android version is shutting down.

Amazon used to push its app store a lot more in the 2010s and even ran a promotion that saw it give away many apps for free to try and attract users to the platform — akin to what Epic Games is trying today with the Epic Games Store. As such, many gamers might have a sizable library of mobile games that they built up through the Amazon app store.

Using Amazon Coins usually also came with a small discount on in-app purchases, which came in handy for Hearthstone and other such titles.

Anyone wanting to save apps purchased or claimed through the store should download them on their phones ahead of the shutdown. Though Amazon warned users that content may not work properly anymore with the app store out of the picture, this is not a guarantee by any means.

Read Entire Article