PhonePe has rebranded its homegrown app marketplace, Indus Appstore, as PhonePe Appstore, marking a shift from simple app discovery to a broader marketplace for digital goods and services. The Bengaluru-based company announced the change on October 28, 2026, alongside a milestone of more than 200 million devices using the platform.
The rebrand is more than a new name. PhonePe says the store will continue to offer apps and games, but will also let users purchase gift cards and digital top-ups, with offers across categories. The company plans to use its payments infrastructure to simplify how people discover and buy digital products, while giving developers another route for distribution and monetisation.
Key Takeaways
- PhonePe has rebranded Indus Appstore as PhonePe Appstore, announced on October 28, 2026.
- The platform has crossed 200 million devices, driven largely by partnerships with phone makers.
- The store is expanding beyond apps and games into gift cards, digital top-ups and a new web store at phonepeappstore.com.
From App Discovery to a Digital Marketplace
Indus Appstore was built as an Indian alternative in a market dominated by global app stores. Its pitch was local language support, local discovery and a distribution channel for Indian developers. The move to the PhonePe name takes that idea further: instead of standing apart from PhonePe, the store now carries the name of one of India’s best-known payments brands.
That matters because trust and reach are the two hardest things for a new marketplace to build. PhonePe’s payments network is already familiar to millions of users, and the company says the rebrand brings that trust and reach to the platform. Chief Business Officer Priya Narasimhan described the rebranding as a major milestone that brings the trust and reach of the PhonePe brand to the platform.
The timing also fits a wider shift in how Indians use their phones. Payments, shopping, entertainment and gaming increasingly happen in the same few apps, and a store that only lists apps looks narrow by comparison. By adding gift cards and top-ups, PhonePe is positioning the store as a single destination for digital lifestyle spending, combining app and game discovery with payments-led commerce.
With the rebrand, PhonePe is seeking to position the store as a single destination for India’s digital lifestyle spending.
What Changes for Users
For users, the most visible changes are the name and the wider catalogue. The rebranded platform will continue to offer apps and games, but users will also be able to purchase gift cards and digital top-ups with offers across categories. PhonePe says it will use its payments infrastructure to simplify discovery and purchase, which should mean fewer steps between finding a product and paying for it.
The company is also launching phonepeappstore.com, a web store that allows consumers to browse and buy digital goods through desktop and mobile browsers without downloading a separate app. That is a useful step for people who discover a game or a gift card on the web and do not want another app just to complete the purchase.
The store’s catalogue already includes apps such as ChatGPT, Duolingo, ShareChat and Sony LIV, along with games including Honor of Kings and Hitwicket. Social, action and simulation games are among the platform’s leading gaming categories, which helps explain why gaming top-ups are first in the feature pipeline.
- More than 200 million devices now use the platform, PhonePe says.
- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana are its top five states by adoption.
- The new web store is phonepeappstore.com, for browsing and buying without a separate app.
- Gaming top-ups are expected to roll out first, ahead of other digital top-up categories.
What Changes for Developers
For developers, the rebrand is pitched as a new set of revenue routes. Narasimhan said developers can look beyond simple app discovery and unlock new ways to earn, including ads, gift cards and top-ups. The company positions the marketplace as a way for developers to reach a wider audience while using PhonePe’s ecosystem for integrated payments, advertising and business insights.
That combination matters for smaller developers in particular. Getting discovered in a large global store is expensive, and payments, advertising and analytics are usually separate tools. A store that bundles distribution with payments and insights could help developers promote and grow their businesses with improved margins, as PhonePe puts it, though the real test will be whether users actually buy gift cards and top-ups through the store at scale.
The device milestone also strengthens the developer pitch. PhonePe Appstore said it is now present on over 200 million devices, driven largely by partnerships with original equipment manufacturers. Those partnerships put the store on phones before users ever open another marketplace, and they explain why adoption is strongest in large states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Digital Top-Ups Are Next
The PhonePe Appstore has outlined a feature pipeline that includes digital top-ups, enabling instant purchase of in-game currencies, skins, dating-app boosts and technology-related top-ups. Gaming top-ups are expected to roll out first, which makes sense given the store’s gaming catalogue and the size of India’s mobile gaming audience.
Top-ups are a natural extension of a payments company. They are small, frequent purchases that need fast, trusted checkout, and they keep users returning to the store between app downloads. If they work well, they could turn the store from a place people visit occasionally into a place they use regularly. That habit is exactly what PhonePe needs if the store is to compete with global marketplaces that users already open by default.
The move also comes on a busy day for Indian technology and markets, with Jio Platforms making its stock market debut on the same day. Together, the two stories underline how much of India’s digital economy is now built around large domestic platforms rather than only global ones. India’s shift to phone-first payments, explained in our look at why Indians pay with UPI instead of cards, is part of the same pattern.
Why This Rebrand Matters Beyond India
App stores around the world are under pressure from regulators, developers and rival platforms, and the idea of a single dominant store is weakening. Regional stores, carrier stores and web stores are all gaining ground, and new connectivity and platform announcements are arriving almost daily. PhonePe’s bet is that a local store with local payments, local languages and local partnerships can win a meaningful share of that fragmented market.
There are risks too. A rebrand can confuse existing users, and a wider catalogue can dilute what made the store distinctive. Gift cards and top-ups also bring fraud, refund and customer-support challenges that a pure app-listing store does not face. PhonePe will need to show that its payments experience really does make buying simpler, not just broader.
What to Watch Next
Watch whether the web store at phonepeappstore.com gains traction beyond the app, whether gaming top-ups roll out on schedule, and whether developers report better discovery and earnings under the PhonePe name. Watch too whether the 200 million device figure keeps growing through phone-maker partnerships, and whether users in the top five states adopt gift cards and top-ups as readily as they adopted apps and games. The rebrand is announced; the marketplace it promises still has to be proven in daily use.