Epic Games and Google Reach Comprehensive Settlement in 5-Year-Long Battle Over Android App Store
In a significant development, Epic Games, the creator of hit online game Fortnite, has reached a comprehensive settlement with Google, potentially bringing an end to its five-year-old legal battle targeting the tech giant's Play Store for Android apps. The two companies announced their agreement in a joint filing in a San Francisco federal court.
The settlement terms remain under seal, pending approval from U.S. District Judge James Donato, but sources have revealed that it closely follows the judge's October 2024 ruling ordering Google to dismantle its digital barriers shielding the Play Store from competition. According to the proposal, Google will be required to distribute rival third-party app stores, enabling consumers to download and install them on their phones if they so desire.
This development marks a major victory for Epic Games, which had been waging a long-standing battle against Google's Android app store over the tech giant's exclusive payment processing systems. The company had filed lawsuits targeting both Google's Play Store and Apple's iPhone app store in 2020, seeking to bypass these commissions that charged between 15% and 30% on in-app transactions.
Under the proposed settlement, Epic Games is pushing for Google to limit these payments to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction. This change would give consumers more options and increase competition within the app store ecosystem.
In a statement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney described the settlement as an "awesome proposal," which he believes will benefit both Android users and developers. A hearing is set for Thursday to finalize the agreement, bringing an end to this long-standing legal battle between two of the tech industry's biggest players.
In a significant development, Epic Games, the creator of hit online game Fortnite, has reached a comprehensive settlement with Google, potentially bringing an end to its five-year-old legal battle targeting the tech giant's Play Store for Android apps. The two companies announced their agreement in a joint filing in a San Francisco federal court.
The settlement terms remain under seal, pending approval from U.S. District Judge James Donato, but sources have revealed that it closely follows the judge's October 2024 ruling ordering Google to dismantle its digital barriers shielding the Play Store from competition. According to the proposal, Google will be required to distribute rival third-party app stores, enabling consumers to download and install them on their phones if they so desire.
This development marks a major victory for Epic Games, which had been waging a long-standing battle against Google's Android app store over the tech giant's exclusive payment processing systems. The company had filed lawsuits targeting both Google's Play Store and Apple's iPhone app store in 2020, seeking to bypass these commissions that charged between 15% and 30% on in-app transactions.
Under the proposed settlement, Epic Games is pushing for Google to limit these payments to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction. This change would give consumers more options and increase competition within the app store ecosystem.
In a statement, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney described the settlement as an "awesome proposal," which he believes will benefit both Android users and developers. A hearing is set for Thursday to finalize the agreement, bringing an end to this long-standing legal battle between two of the tech industry's biggest players.
. I mean, can you believe they've been fighting Google for like 5 years over their app store? It's crazy how much power and control Google had over what apps could be downloaded on Android devices. And now, it looks like Google is finally going to give devs more options and let consumers choose which app stores they want to use.
This settlement is HUGE 
! Google's dominance in the app store market is finally being challenged 
. The fact that Epic Games got 15-30% less commission on transactions from Google's Play Store is a big win for devs and consumers alike 
. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes up the industry and what other companies try to capitalize on this new landscape 
. Did you know that in 2024 alone, 70% of mobile gamers played games that took more than 15 minutes to complete? That's a lot of grinding! 
The stats are looking good for Epic Games – they've had a whopping 87% success rate in getting their lawsuits approved since 2020 
so its like google and epic games were fighting for years over their app stores and now they reached a settlement 
thats good news for consumers right? cuz now we get to choose which app store we wanna use on our android phones 
also this means devs like the ones who make fortnite will have more options too 
! Five years ago, they must've been like "Hey, Google, gimme 50% of my in-app money" 
, and now it's like "Uh, nope, Tim, you can only get 15%" 
. I'm not a lawyer or anything, but that sounds kinda sweet for devs who wanna keep more of their hard-earned cash 
I'm thrilled to see Epic Games and Google finally coming together after years of drama! It's about time we get some real competition in the app store space 
.