Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google ended much differently than its courtroom battle with Apple. As the legal battle waged by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, concludes, the court ruled that Google violated US competition laws when it comes to the way it manages the Play Store.
Epic won the case
Epic Games has scored a win three years after it sued Apple and Google for allegedly creating an unlawful app store monopoly. While the jury was making its decision on the Google side of the legal process, it was determined that Google had unlawfully turned the Google Play application store and Google Play Billing service into a monopoly.
The court and jury decided that Google had monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets and in-app billing services markets, that Google had done anticompetitive things in those markets, and that Epic was harmed by this conduct. They also ruled that there was an illegal nexus between Google’s Google Play app store and Google Play Billing payment services, and that its distribution agreement, Project Hug deals with game developers, and deals with OEMs were all anti-competitive.
Google will continue the war
According to the statements made, Google plans to appeal the relevant decision. “The case made clear that we compete fiercely with Apple and the App Store, as well as app stores for Android devices and game consoles,” Google said. In its statement, Epic Games said: “It proves that Google’s activities on the app store are illegal and that it abuses its monopoly to charge exorbitant fees, hinder competition and reduce innovation.” said.This is a historic victory, as Epic lost its fight against Apple two years ago. However, it turned out that the Epic and Google case was a very different case. The case centered on secret revenue-sharing agreements between Google’s smartphone manufacturers and major game developers, believed to have been designed by Google executives to pressure rival app stores.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in his statement on X: “Victory against Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, a California jury ruled against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The court’s work on solutions will begin in January. Thanks for everyone’s support and belief! Free Fortnite!” he said.
For those who do not know, Epic Games brought the mobile versions of its record-breaking game Fortnite to the relevant App Store and Play Store stores, but the company opposed this, finding the 30 percent commission rates requested for all purchases to be high. Epic was removed from both the App Store and Play Store for requesting and using an alternative payment network. This commission received by Apple and Google is called the “hidden tax” of the internet.
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