Epic Games and Google Reach 5-Year Settlement Over Android App Store, Ending Antitrust Fight.
A comprehensive settlement agreement has been reached between Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, and Google, ending a five-year legal battle over the tech giant's Play Store for Android apps. The joint filing in a San Francisco federal court revealed that both parties have agreed to put their disputes aside while making Android a more vibrant platform for users and developers.
The agreement marks a significant victory for Epic Games, which has been pushing for changes to Google's app store policies since 2020. The company had filed lawsuits against the Play Store and Apple's iPhone app store in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged high commissions on in-app transactions. As part of the settlement, Google will be required to limit its payments to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction.
In a significant shift, the agreement calls for Google to distribute rival third-party app stores, allowing consumers to download them to their phones if they so desire. This provision closely follows a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Donato in October 2024, which ordered Google to tear down the digital walls shielding its Android app store from competition.
The settlement comes as a welcome relief for Epic Games, which had been waging an ongoing antitrust fight against Google. The tech giant has faced multiple challenges in recent years, including separate antitrust trials affecting different aspects of its internet empire. With this agreement, Epic Games and Google appear to have reached a mutually beneficial resolution that could help shape the future of Android app stores.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney expressed his satisfaction with the settlement in a social media post, calling it an "awesome proposal." A hearing is set for Thursday, where the terms of the settlement will be reviewed by U.S. District Judge James Donato.
A comprehensive settlement agreement has been reached between Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, and Google, ending a five-year legal battle over the tech giant's Play Store for Android apps. The joint filing in a San Francisco federal court revealed that both parties have agreed to put their disputes aside while making Android a more vibrant platform for users and developers.
The agreement marks a significant victory for Epic Games, which has been pushing for changes to Google's app store policies since 2020. The company had filed lawsuits against the Play Store and Apple's iPhone app store in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged high commissions on in-app transactions. As part of the settlement, Google will be required to limit its payments to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction.
In a significant shift, the agreement calls for Google to distribute rival third-party app stores, allowing consumers to download them to their phones if they so desire. This provision closely follows a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Donato in October 2024, which ordered Google to tear down the digital walls shielding its Android app store from competition.
The settlement comes as a welcome relief for Epic Games, which had been waging an ongoing antitrust fight against Google. The tech giant has faced multiple challenges in recent years, including separate antitrust trials affecting different aspects of its internet empire. With this agreement, Epic Games and Google appear to have reached a mutually beneficial resolution that could help shape the future of Android app stores.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney expressed his satisfaction with the settlement in a social media post, calling it an "awesome proposal." A hearing is set for Thursday, where the terms of the settlement will be reviewed by U.S. District Judge James Donato.
, this is amazing news for gamers and developers alike! i mean, think about it, google's app store has been a total chokehold on android for ages 
. epic games has been fighting hard for change, and now we get to see the benefits of that struggle 
. 9-20% commission is still steep tho 
but at least google is being forced to be more open to competition 
. and can't wait to download some new apps from those rival stores 
. this is a major win for android users everywhere 
they've been fighting that antitrust battle for like forever and finally got some serious changes to google's app store policies. 9-20% commission is still kinda steep, but hey at least it's not the 30% apple takes 
I'm kinda surprised Google agreed to make changes, especially considering how big they are 
. Now, let's see if Google actually follows through on its promises 
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finally some good news about Android app stores! Google's payments should be more reasonable now... 20% commission seems high to me 
just thinking about this settlement its crazy how one company can have so much control over the app stores on our phones I mean what's wrong with Google wanting to make some money off those in-app purchases? 
I'm just glad its finally happening – its gonna be interesting to see if this leads to more competition and better deals for users