Google has lost its lawsuit against Epic Games, and as a result, the Epic Games Store will be coming to the Google Play Store, as confirmed by the company’s founder and CEO Tim Sweeney.
The legal battle has been ongoing since 2020, with Epic Games finally prevailing after Apple removed Fortnite when the game’s in-game purchases bypassed Google’s commission for in-store purchases. Google will now have to change its policies in order to allow other app stores to launch on the Play Store and manage their own monetisation independently.
“It is well established that antitrust remedies can and often must proscribe otherwise lawful conduct to unwind and further prevent violators’ anticompetitive activity,” Judge Margaret McKeown wrote on behalf of the unanimous panel.
“The district court had within its basket of remedial powers the authority to require Google to deal with parties harmed by its anticompetitive conduct, including its competitors.”
Google Intends to Challenge Court’s Decision
While the Ninth Circuit has stated that it will ‘uphold the injunction in full,’ Google wants to appeal the decision.
“This decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem,” Google’s Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, told The Verge.
“Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers and partners, and maintaining a secure platform as we continue our appeal.”
Epic Games’ fight against Google began when its popular battle royale title Fortnite was removed from both Google and Apple’s app stores. A ruling in 2023 also favoured Epic Games, which Google challenged but has now failed to overturn.
“Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation,” Epic Games stated.
The release date for the Epic Games Store on the Google Play Store has not been revealed at the moment, but the community can expect an announcement soon.
