Epic wins massive court case against Google, the Play Store, and Android

"Victory over Google!" writes Epic Games' Tim Sweeney after the jury handed down a verdict in favor of Epic in its case against Google, which the company sued for allegedly running its app store and billing service as a monopoly. Epic Games, the creator of the super popular Fortnite (which this is all about), began its legal battle against Apple and Google three years ago - and earlier today, it recorded a landmark victory.

"After four weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts," Tim Sweeney continues in his post-victory post on X. "The Court's work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone's support and faith! Free Fortnite!"

The ruling was a unanimous yes to the question of Google's monopoly power on the Android platform, app distribution, and billing services. It was also a yes to Google acting in an anti-competitive fashion and, in the process, harming Epic Games. In a post on its website, Epic Games calls the victory "a win for all app developers and consumers around the world."

The issue comes down to Google allegedly forcing developers to use its Play Store on Android, making deals, and spending money to ensure any alternative app store (including those from developers themselves) fails. With Google taking a 30% cut of all sales (which Epic Games refers to as a "30% tax on developers"), this proved to be an issue when it came to Epic looking to monetize Fortnight on Android.

As for Google, it plans to appeal the verdict. "We plan to challenge the verdict," Wilson White, VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy, said. "We will continue to defend the Android business model and remain deeply committed to our users, partners, and the broader Android ecosystem."

When Epic went up against Apple in 2021, a US judge ruled in favor of Apple, so this new ruling is quite a blow for Google. It'll be interesting to see how this affects the whole App Store and Play Store economy and how it might change in the future.