But it is pretty interesting how easy it has always been to bypass the Play Store. It's user friendly, yes, and I like it, but it essentially enables Epic Games' workaround.
Google could have easily added way more (still acceptable for most users) friction into the process in the first place. Maybe having the switch in the developer settings, maybe having to enable it over ADB. That'd surely have made Epic Games think harder about this move.
Because consoles are proprietary closed source boxen and android isn't
The fact that you can install software outside of the app store no more makes the version of Android that most people run "open source" than it does Windows or MacOS.
Google has abandoned more and more of the open source parts of AOSP with closed source alternatives over the years.
That’s not to mention all of the drivers that are proprietary....