MTS AppBazar

2025: Store Closure

In April 2025, it became known that MTS stopped working its AppBazar application store without an official statement. From February 1, 2025, the service stopped accepting payments, and from February 15 it completely stopped functioning.

According to Runet.News, a source close to the company told the publication about the closure of the project. Users can no longer purchase new games and apps, sign up for subscriptions, or shop inside apps. At the moment, the site of the app store itself (https://appbazar.am/) is not working.

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Фото: Freepik

AppBazar was launched in November 2022 as an alternative to Google Play for Android devices. At launch, the store had about 100 apps from more than 50 companies. Legally, Appbazar LLC was registered in Armenia.

In November 2022, Kommersant reported that AppBazar presented games from the British company 8floor (Gnomes Garden), Italy's TuoMuseo (Father and Son), Brazil's Orube Game Studio (Dwarf Journey), Portuguese Infinity Games (Infinity Loop) and Russian-British Zeptolab (Cut the Rope and C.A.T.S). Their publisher in AppBazar was the provider of mobile content "SMS Services," owned by co-founders of i-Free Kirill Petrov and Sergey Shulga.

Of the 28 non-gaming applications featured in AppBazar, 15 were developments by MTS itself. Some of the third-party services also had connections with the operator: the Ozon marketplace - through the common owner (AFK Sistema), BelkaCar car sharing - through the presence of MTS Premium in the subscription.

One of the last major partnerships of the service was announced by the South Korean portal Inven. In May 2024, the major Korean publisher QROAD signed an agreement with the Russian service AppBazar to support Korean gaming companies in promoting the global market.^[1]

2022: Announcement and launch of the store

November 22, 2022 MTS announced the launch of its own app store for. operating system Android The platform is called AppBazar.

As noted in MTS, on this site, Russian and foreign developers can post, promote and monetize their services, and users can download applications and pay for them using cards from Russian banks or from a mobile phone account.

MTS launched the Android AppBazar store

At the time of launch, AppBazar MTS offers:

• access to a potential audience of more than 40 million MTS subscribers on Android OS to promote and improve applications;
• promotion of applications within the framework of the loyalty program among users of MTS ecosystem products;
• payment for applications and subscriptions for users in one click from a mobile account or bank card;
• fast, comprehensive application scanning for vulnerabilities.

To monetize programs, developers can use various tools, including the service of internal purchases in applications, the sale of premium versions, subscriptions, participation in advertising campaigns of Stora. MTS also offers partners the services of a personal manager. By the end of 2022, developers will be offered preferential conditions for monetizing applications.

The AppBazar catalog contains, among other things, games from the British 8floor, the Italian TuoMuseo, the Brazilian Orube Game Studio, the Portuguese Infinity Games and the Russian-British Zeptolab. Of the 28 non-gaming applications in the store, 15 are MTS developments. There are also, for example, Ozon applications, BelkaCar car sharing, Post Bank and Дом.РФ. The company did not say whether applications of sub-sanctioned banks will appear in AppBazar, but noted that they did not plan to restrict access to the site for other operators.

Our goal is to turn AppBazar into one of the largest sites in Russia for useful, interesting and safe applications for all occasions, - said MTS President Vyacheslav Nikolaev.[2]

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