[AnthonyMouse]

The problem with alternate app stores on Android is that before Android 12 (which is still only in beta), other stores couldn't update the apps they install, which is kind of fatal.

You also can't install the various alternate stores themselves through Google Play and Google purposely makes installing APKs a pain for regular people.

And then it's "see, nobody wants them" after they purposely put a wall in front of them which most people can't get past.

So developers still need to be in Google Play to get all the users who can't figure it out, but if everything is in Google Play then even the customers who could figure it out have no incentive to go through the trouble.