Amazon AppStore goes international, simplifies revenue sharing

Newsbrief: Amazon has announced that it's extending the Appstore, its Android app marketplace that serves as an alternative to Google Play, beyond the U.S. and to other countries this summer. Game developers around the world can submit their titles for international distribution, starting with the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. Some have speculated that this move signals an upcoming release for Amazon's tablet, Kindle Fire, to other countries outside of the U.S. Along with expanding the Appstore's reach, Amazon has revised its mobile app distribution terms to give developers more flexibility on timing their releases, and simplify its revenue share for paid apps. Developers now earn 70 percent of the list price for each paid app's sale, instead of either 70 percent of an app's sale price or 20 percent of list price (whichever was greater) -- Amazon often lowers the price of developers' games, which would result in a different revenue share for studios.