diff --git a/google/__init__.py b/google/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 9a1b64a6d..000000000
--- a/google/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-#
-# Copyright 2020 Google LLC
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-try:
-    import pkg_resources
-
-    pkg_resources.declare_namespace(__name__)
-except ImportError:
-    import pkgutil
-
-    __path__ = pkgutil.extend_path(__path__, __name__)
diff --git a/google/cloud/__init__.py b/google/cloud/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e1f8a4d20..000000000
--- a/google/cloud/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-#
-# Copyright 2020 Google LLC
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-from typing import List
-
-try:
-    import pkg_resources
-
-    pkg_resources.declare_namespace(__name__)
-except ImportError:
-    import pkgutil
-
-    __path__: List[str] = pkgutil.extend_path(__path__, __name__)  # type: ignore
diff --git a/noxfile.py b/noxfile.py
index ad452184a..f2cea17e9 100644
--- a/noxfile.py
+++ b/noxfile.py
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def mypy(session):
     # TODO: Only check the hand-written layer, the generated code does not pass
     # mypy checks yet.
     # https://github.com/googleapis/gapic-generator-python/issues/1092
-    session.run("mypy", "google/cloud")
+    session.run("mypy", "-p", "google.cloud")
 
 
 @nox.session(python=DEFAULT_PYTHON_VERSION)
diff --git a/owlbot.py b/owlbot.py
index 7539adfdb..451be6e99 100644
--- a/owlbot.py
+++ b/owlbot.py
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ def mypy(session):
         # TODO: Only check the hand-written layer, the generated code does not pass
         # mypy checks yet.
         # https://github.com/googleapis/gapic-generator-python/issues/1092
-        session.run("mypy", "google/cloud")'''
+        session.run("mypy", "-p", "google.cloud")'''
     ),
 )
 
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ def mypy(session):
 )
 s.replace(
     "noxfile.py",
-    r'session\.run\("mypy", "google/cloud"\)',
+    r'session\.run\("mypy", "-p", "google.cloud"\)',
     textwrap.dedent(
         '''    \g<0>
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 7d70e25bc..c2f82fed6 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -60,10 +60,6 @@
     if package.startswith("google")
 ]
 
-namespaces = ["google"]
-if "google.cloud" in packages:
-    namespaces.append("google.cloud")
-
 setuptools.setup(
     name=name,
     version=version,
@@ -84,12 +80,12 @@
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
         "Operating System :: OS Independent",
         "Topic :: Internet",
     ],
     platforms="Posix; MacOS X; Windows",
     packages=packages,
-    namespace_packages=namespaces,
     install_requires=dependencies,
     extras_require=extras,
     python_requires=">=3.7",
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_packaging.py b/tests/unit/test_packaging.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6dc70e3d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_packaging.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Copyright 2023 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+def test_namespace_package_compat(tmp_path):
+    # The ``google`` namespace package should not be masked
+    # by the presence of ``google-cloud-pubsub``.
+    google = tmp_path / "google"
+    google.mkdir()
+    google.joinpath("othermod.py").write_text("")
+    env = dict(os.environ, PYTHONPATH=str(tmp_path))
+    cmd = [sys.executable, "-m", "google.othermod"]
+    subprocess.check_call(cmd, env=env)
+
+    # The ``google.cloud`` namespace package should not be masked
+    # by the presence of ``google-cloud-pubsub``.
+    google_cloud = tmp_path / "google" / "cloud"
+    google_cloud.mkdir()
+    google_cloud.joinpath("othermod.py").write_text("")
+    env = dict(os.environ, PYTHONPATH=str(tmp_path))
+    cmd = [sys.executable, "-m", "google.cloud.othermod"]
+    subprocess.check_call(cmd, env=env)