Pinoy AppShop logo.

Pinoy AppShop was a digital distribution platform for Android games created by Filipino mobile phone brand Cherry Mobile. It was launched in mid-2014 as a direct competitor to Google Play and exclusively features games created by local game developers.

Pinoy AppShop was a digital games distribution platform that exclusively distributes games and applications by developed by Filipino game and software developers. The platform held its soft launch in April 2014,^[1], and its formal launch was held at the launch of the Cherry Mobile Flare 3.0 smartphone in August 2014.^[2] At the time of its launch, developers needed to submit their apps to Cherry Mobile representatives, who would then manually upload them to the store.

One of its key features was mobile billing, which allowed players to perform transactions with mobile carrier credits (e.g., prepaid load). The application came pre-installed with select Cherry Mobile devices, including the Flare 3.0. It is also notable for having a 60/40 revenue split with developers, which is lower than the industry standard of 70/30 that is used by Google Play.

Despite the AppShop being a product of Cherry Mobile, any Android smartphone could have downloaded and used the AppShop application from the Google Play store.

Richard Francisco, Cherry Mobile business developer, stated in 2013 that "it's hard to look for Pinoy apps in the Play Store. It's also hard to create payment gateways. Majority [of the population] do not have credit cards". Pinoy AppShop would act as a "super highway" for Filipino developers.^[3]

To incentivize developers to join the platform, Cherry Mobile provided an early adopter program. Developers who registered from January 1 to June 30, 2014 kept 100% of their net revenue. Those who registered from July 1 to December 31, 2014 kept 80%, while those from January 1, 2015 onward kept 60%.^[4]

1. Cherry Mobile Pinoy Appshop, home of 100 percent Pinoy-made games. August 14, 2014. Xairylle. Tech in Asia. Retrieved on 2023-11-03.
2. Cherry Mobile Outs 5-inch “Phablet ng Bayan” Flare 3.0. August 4, 2014 at 1:32 AM (UTC+0). Irwin Allen Rivera. Swirling Over Coffee. Retrieved on 2023-11-03.
3. PHL Game Dev't Festival tracks rise of Pinoy geeks, gamers, and developers. October 26, 2013 at 7:40 PM. Kim Luces. GMA News under SciTech. Retrieved on 2023-11-03.
4. Mobile Phone Company Cherry Mobile To Fill Its AppShop With 100% Pinoy Games. August 20, 2014. Juvy Garcia. Vulcan Post. Retrieved on 2023-11-03.