The future of Google Play is at stake with a lawsuit by Epic Games, the developer and publisher of Fortnite, the company’s premier title.
This legal battle began in 2020 when Epic sued Google over app purchase fees. Because Epic pushed updates to the game that allowed the company to bill customers directly for in-app purchases rather than the storefronts themselves, Google kicked Epic off the Play Store on Android devices. Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store on iOS devices for the same reason.
Epic claimed the Google Play Store, which is the dominant shopping center on Android operating systems, constituted an illegal monopoly against third-party developers.
In essence, Epic is demanding that Google make the use of sideloaded applications, third-party app stores, and non-Google payment processing easier. Conversely, Google is refuting by saying that this would damage Android’s ability to compete with Apple’s App Store and offer secure user experiences.
This case took a long time to reach court and came after a similar trial Epic had with Apple back in 2021.
Both Google and Apple have been accused by developers of taking far too much revenue from in-app purchases and making it difficult for creators to communicate with customers.