The long and costly legal war between Epic Games and Googlewhich began in 2020, is about to end. Both companies have jointly submitted an agreement proposal and a modified court order which, if approved, not only resolves all its disputes, but also redraws the rules of the Android app store for the coming years.
Chronology. To understand why Google has agreed, you have to rewind. After a long trial, a jury ruled in favor of Epic in 2023, declaring that Google’s Play Store operated as an illegal monopoly. Based on that verdict, Judge Donato issued a harsh court order a year later. This forced Google to open its ecosystem and included allowing third-party stores within the Play Store itself. In addition, it prohibited Google from tying its billing system to the store, and allowing developers to link to external payments.
Braking attempt. Google immediately appealed, warning that the changes would harm the “security and privacy” of users. On October 18, 2024, the judge granted the Mountain View giant a temporary suspension while the appeal was being resolved. It was just a momentary respite.
Surrender. After losing appeals, the US Supreme Court rejected Google’s latest request for a suspension. This reactivated the original court ordergiving the company an imminent deadline that ended on October 22. It had to start dismantling its control over the Android software store.
Image by Official GDC on Flickr
New agreement. Faced with the obligation to comply with a sentence that it hated, Google has negotiated a lesser evil. This new agreement, which was presented yesterday, replaces the original order with agreed rules that will be in force until June 30, 2032. Tim Sweeney himself, CEO of Epic, rated it X as an “impressive” and “comprehensive solution.”
These were the words of Sameer Samat, the president of Android, who also reacted to the news:
Together with Epic Games, we have proposed changes for Android and Google Play that focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, reducing fees, and encouraging greater competition, all while ensuring user safety. If approved, this would resolve our disputes. We hope to continue discussing the issue with the judge on Thursday.
The agreement details a new maximum commission structure. Google will not be able to charge more than 20% for in-game purchases that offer advantages (such as loot boxes or improvements). For everything else, the maximum commission will be 9%. On the other hand, the developers they win the right to display their own payment systems with Play Billing. Additionally, they will be able to show different (i.e. cheaper) prices if the user chooses the alternative payment.
However, the Big Tech will continue to charge your “service fee”– Even if a developer uses its payment platform, Google reserves the right to charge the service fee (the 20% or 9% mentioned). According to media such as The Vergea Google spokesperson clarified that the developer saves the billing fee (cost of processing the payment), but not the service fee.
Global impact. Although the court order is limited to the US, this change to the Android operating system will have a global impact. This opens the door for third-party stores—such as the one that Epic announced with Telefónica— can be installed without any friction. Without forgetting that this pact also prohibits Google (for three years) from making payments to manufacturers or operators to pre-install competing stores or to not place them in specific places on the device.
What’s coming now. The agreement is not final: it must be approved by the judge. Both parties have a hearing scheduled for this Thursday, November 6, to discuss the proposal. We’ll see how it ends, but it seems that the final agreement will not be very different from this one.
Cover image | Composition with images of Sergey Galyonkin for Flickr and Xataka Android
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