SAN FRANCISCO — Video game developer Epic Games has announced a “comprehensive settlement” with Google, potentially bringing an end to its five-year legal battle over the Google Play Store for Android apps.
The settlement details were shared in a joint legal filing made in a federal court in San Francisco. Both companies stated that the agreement would enable them to resolve their disputes while enhancing the Android platform for users and developers alike.
Epic, known for its popular game Fortnite, celebrated a victory earlier when a federal appeals court upheld a jury decision that labeled Google’s Android app store as an illegal monopoly. This ruling opened the door for a federal judge to implement significant changes aimed at increasing consumer choice in the app market.
While specific terms of the settlement remain confidential and need approval from U.S. District Judge James Donato, the companies provided a broad outline of their agreements. They noted that the settlement closely aligns with Donato’s October 2024 order requiring Google to remove barriers that prevent competition in its Android app store. One major change will mandate Google to allow competing third-party app stores to be distributed, giving consumers more options for downloading apps.
Google had attempted to negate these changes through an appeal, but a July ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was a setback for the tech company, which is currently dealing with three different antitrust lawsuits affecting various aspects of its business.
Epic initiated lawsuits against both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store in 2020, aiming to avoid the exclusive payment processing systems that charge hefty commissions on in-app transactions. The new settlement proposes that Google lower these commission rates to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney referred to the settlement as an “awesome proposal” in a social media post, with a hearing expected to take place on Thursday.
