Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi vying to create an alternative for Google Play Store with Global Developer Service Alliance: Report

After the whole Huawei business suspension saga with Google, Chinese companies like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi alongside Huawei are gearing up to create a platform for developers outside China to upload apps onto all of their app stores simultaneously. The platform could be known as the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA). It is aimed to make it easier for developers of games, music, movies and other apps to market their apps in overseas markets. 

According to a report from Reuters, the GDSA was initially aiming to be launched in March. However, it is not clear if it will now be launching next month due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Initially, the platform is said to cover nine "regions" including India. If the companies indeed join hands to take on Google Play Store with the new platform, it will let users access a wide range of apps similar to Google Play Store.

Further, the report goes on to say that Xiaomi denied Huawei’s involvement, while the other three companies, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei declined to comment. A Xiaomi spokesperson said, “GDSA solely serves to facilitate the uploading of apps by developers to respective app stores of Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo simultaneously. There’s no competing interest between this service and the Google Play store.”

For reference, Google’s services are banned in China. However, the company went on to earn  $8.8 billion globally from the Play store in 2019, said Katie Williams, an analyst at Sensor Tower. While Google also sells content such as movies and books on the Play Store, the GDSA will reportedly be made for apps only. 

"By forming this alliance each company will be looking to leverage the others' advantages in different regions, with Xiaomi's strong user base in India, Vivo and Oppo in Southeast Asia, and Huawei in Europe," said Nicole Peng, the VP of Mobility at Canalys.