Report from TechCrunch
In Brief – Google and Epic Games have proposed an alternative global settlement to end their antitrust dispute to Judge James Donato who was skeptical of the two companies’ first proposal to modify his remedy order. If approved by the judge, Fortnite will return to the Play Store worldwide and Epic Games will distribute games through its own app store on Android devices. Fees are central to the deal. Google explains that it will reduce its standard Play Store commission on in-app purchases to 20%, from its current 30%, and for recurring subscriptions to 10%, from 15%. Developers that choose to use Google Play Billing will pay an additional 5% fee but are free to use certified alternatives. The companies propose a “Registered App Stores” program that requires third-party alternatives to meet safety requirements but does provide them full access to the Play Store app catalog as proposed by Donato’s original remedy order. Google will support the new alternative app store program for six years, rather than just three under the original injunction. The new fee structure and developer programs will launch in the US, UK, and European Economic Area by June 30, 2026, with phased expansion to Australia, Japan, Korea, and the rest of the world by September 2027. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney praised the new settlement proposal.
Context – Epic’s 2020 antitrust lawsuits against Apple and Google kicked off a global lobbying and litigation campaign to drive down their fees. Apple, despite earning more money from developers and running a closed system largely prevailed in federal court, while Google, with a more open ecosystem, lost. However, Apple did lose on a single complaint involving California’s Unfair Competition Law and eventually was hit with an injunction at least as restrictive as the one Google faced after they lost across the board. Apple is still appealing and most recently won a partial reversal of a court order that blocked them from charging any commissions on third-part app downloads. Globally, both companies face similar demands in major markets including Europe, Japan, South Korea and India, with each new result feeding more.