Epic Games and Google have announced they have reached a settlement on their longstanding legal feud, which began in August 2020 and was filed at the same time as Epic's lawsuit against Apple.
The Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker challenged both mobile giants for their monopolistic practices and scored a complete victory against Google in December 2023, which was subsequently upheld in appeals. Earlier this month, Google even appealed to the Supreme Court, but with no avail.
A few hours ago, Google's President of the Android ecosystem, Sameer Samat, wrote on X that a proposed set of changes, devised in collaboration with Epic, would increase developers' choice and flexibility, reduce fees, and encourage greater competition, all while ensuring user safety.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney expressed his joy in the following tweet response:
Google has made an awesome proposal, subject to court approval, to open up Android in the US Epic v Google case and settle our disputes. It genuinely doubles down on Android's original vision as an open platform to streamline competing store installs globally, reduce service fees for developers on Google Play, and enable third-party in-app and web payments. This is a comprehensive solution, which stands in contrast to Apple's model of blocking all competing stores and leaving payments as the only vector for competition.
In practice, Google has agreed to lower its fees to 20% for in-app purchases that include accessing a gameplay advantage and 9% for those that do not. Alternative payment options will be displayed side by side with Google Play Billing in apps like the Epic Games Store. Moreover, a key point is that starting with a version of the next major Android release through June 30, 2032, Google will modify future versions of the Android operating system to allow users to install a Registered App Store from a website by clicking on a single store install screen using neutral language.
Since these changes would apply globally instead of just in the United States, Epic reckons this is a better option than the previous changes mandated by Judge Donato. Google and Epic are now scheduled to discuss these proposed changes with the Judge tomorrow. If approved, this would also conclude the lawsuit between the two companies.
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