SAN FRANCISCO – Epic Games, the renowned developer behind popular video games, has reached a significant settlement with Google that may conclude its five-year legal battle over the Android Play Store.
On Tuesday, both Epic and Google announced the settlement in a joint legal submission to a federal court in San Francisco.
The companies expressed that this agreement aims to resolve their conflicts while enhancing Android as a competitive and dynamic platform for both users and developers.
Epic Games, known for its hit game Fortnite, scored a legal win earlier this year when a federal appeals court affirmed a jury’s finding that Google’s Android app marketplace functioned as an illegal monopoly. This unanimous decision could pave the way for federal enforcement of changes that aim to provide consumers with more options.
While the details of the settlement remain confidential, pending approval by U.S. District Judge James Donato, the companies have outlined some key aspects in their legal filing.
The settlement aligns closely with Judge Donato’s October 2024 directive for Google to dismantle barriers in its app store, thereby allowing the distribution of third-party app stores, giving consumers the freedom to install them on their devices.
Google had hoped to void those changes with an appeal, but the ruling issued in July by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a legal blow for the tech giant, which has been waylaid in three separate antitrust trials affecting different pillars of its internet empire.
Epic Games filed lawsuits targeting Google’s Play Store as well as Apple’s iPhone app store in 2020 in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged 15% to 30% commissions on in-app transactions. The settlement agreement proposed Tuesday calls for Google to limit those payments to between 9% and 20%, depending on the transaction.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney called the settlement an “awesome proposal” in a social media post. A hearing is set for Thursday.
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