I've noticed this as an end user. If I want to find a working free android app, I check FDroid first. The android store probably has whatever I will find, but it's usually hidden below dozens of completeley broken ad / surveillance supported ones.
Can devs pay for placement in the android store or something?
Play store search seems to filter result by location and sometimes even if you type the exact name it does not show you the app and if you visit the link from the developer site it does appear just not on search.
Can devs pay for placement in the android store or something?