Epic Games has won another battle against the Google Play store. A U.S. appeals court has denied Google’s request to pause the order that requires Google to restore market competition by allowing users to download competing app stores within the Google Play store and to make its catalog available to competitors.
Google and Epic Games have been at war for years over the 30% cut that Google imposed on in-app purchases. After reluctantly putting its megapopular Fortnite in the Google Play store, Epic tried to bypass Google taking a share of its profits, ultimately resulting in a lawsuit over what it claimed were Google’s anticompetitive practices.
Epic declared victory back in 2023, but Google resisted making changes to its Google Play Store, first by filing an appeal that it also lost and then by trying to freeze the order from that appeal.
In today’s decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Mary Margaret McKeown wrote: “In the world of adrenaline-fueled survival that epitomizes the video game Fortnite, winners are decided in blazes of destruction and glory. By contrast, the outcome of this case — centered on Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, and the Google Android platform — turns on longstanding principles of trial procedure, antitrust, and injunctive remedies.”
Google’s only recourse now would be to take the case to the US Supreme Court, something that it is considering according to a statement to Courthouse News. A Google spokesperson said: “Protecting users and the Android ecosystem remains our top priority.”
