Absolutely absurd take from Google here. What could they be thinking? It's like they want app store legislation.
Probably.
Do I think Google made that decision consciously and this is part of their scheme?
No, I think they screwed up the way that they do all the time, won't apologize for it, and if they decide to reverse themselves this time, they could still un-reverse their judgement after any future update, or just because Google is incompetent that way.