Following Audible and Kindle, Amazon’s Comixology has also removed IAPs on Android

I have a confession – I never really had a chance to grow up reading comic books. Not only that, but I simply can’t justify most comic book purchases on the Google Play Store or elsewhere since you read it (quickly, I might add) and then are done with it practically forever. Unless you enjoy the artwork enough to reflect back on it, these graphic novels can become pretty expensive pretty quickly, and the value proposition seems different depending on who you ask.

Now, I’m not an Amazon kind of guy – never have been – but when the company bought Comixology, I was a bit more interested. One subscription price for all of your comics sounded pretty nice by comparison to traditional buying methods. 40,000 comics, graphic novels, and manga from top publishers including Marvel, DC, Kodansha, Dark Horse, Image, and Yen Press all for just $5.99 USD per month is a sweet offer.

Sadly, Comixology is now the latest victim of the new Google Play Store billing policy, and Amazon is removing in-app purchases from the app just as it did recently with Audible and the official Kindle eBooks app. This means that this is yet another official content app that can’t do its job – providing you with content!

“To remain in compliance with updated Google Play Store policies, the option to buy comics, graphic novels, or manga or subscribe to Kindle Unlimited will no longer be available in the Comixology app for Android with the release of app version 4.0.1. You can continue to read books in your library, read samples, and browse within the app but will need to visit the website – amazon.co.uk/comixology – on your preferred web browser to buy new content or to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.

Email to users this week

Until further notice (since June 1, 2022), you can only buy comics to read in the Comixology app on Android by visiting Amazon.com/comixology, by adding titles to your list with the heart icon and buying it later through the web browser from your Amazon wishlist, or via Kindle Unlimited in the app (limitations compared to buying outright!)

Essentially, Google is trying to keep large companies like Epic Games and Amazon among others from avoiding giving it a 10-30% cut of the revenue generated by the apps on its platform. Google itself states that it wants to keep things from being confusing to users by having on billing system on Android and encourages companies to use other methods outside of their app to communicate about money with their users.