In 2020, Epic released Fortnite through Google’s official app marketplace, but still slammed the company for discouraging users from downloading third-party apps. In September, both companies asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling and take on the case, so basically everything is still up in the air.Įpic began pointing Fortnite players to direct downloads back in 2018, steering them away from Google’s Play Store. The court’s decision mostly favored Apple, though did require the iPhone maker to open up its software market by allowing developers to direct customers to alternative payment options. That much-publicized campaign began with a spoof on Apple’s iconic “1984” advertisement and culminated in a mixed ruling two years ago.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s likely because Epic took the same fight to Apple. “We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem.” Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform,” White said. In a statement provided to TechCrunch, Google’s VP of Government Affairs & Public Policy Wilson White confirmed the company’s plans to appeal. “It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation.”Įpic praised regulation in the works that could place further limitations on Apple’s and Google’s dominant software practices, citing the U.K.’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill and the EU’s Digital Markets Act. “Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world,” Epic Games wrote in a statement about the verdict. In their defense, Apple and Google generally point to concerns around security to justify their shared desire to steer app users toward a central software authority. Epic’s war against Apple and Google centers around its hit game Fortnite, which is free to play and available on nearly every software platform imaginable, current App Store and Google Play drama notwithstanding.Įpic argues that both tech giants violate antitrust laws by forcing app users to make payments through their own systems and taking a significant cut of in-app revenues in the process. The lawsuit against Google was just one piece of Epic’s flashy effort to rally app developers large and small against mobile software’s entrenched gatekeepers. Epic, creator of the popular online multiplayer game Fortnite, first filed its lawsuit against Google in 2020 alleging that the tech giant’s app store practices violated federal and California state antitrust laws. The unanimous verdict wraps up a three-year-long legal battle between the companies. On Monday, a jury sided with Epic Games over Google in an antitrust case that could reshape how app marketplaces like Google Play are allowed to operate.

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