Google settles with Epic Games with offer to lower its app store commissions

"Google's concessions come five months after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the company's attempt to overturn a federal judge's order requiring a far more extensive overhaul of the Play Store following a 2023 trial that culminated in a jury declaring the setup an illegal monopoly."

"Backed into a legal corner, Google is now prepared to decrease its baseline commissions for subscriptions and e-commerce transactions into the 10% to 20% range. It's also offering an optional 5% payment processing charge that would be applied in addition to the other service fees for apps that prefer to keep everything within the Play Store."

"App developers could still choose to rely on another payment processing system besides Google's and consumers will be able to download apps from alternative stores that go through a certification process. Although not required, alternative app stores that go through the Google's registration process are less likely to provoke warnings about security risks."

Google is implementing significant changes to its Android Play Store following years of antitrust litigation initiated by Epic Games in 2020. The company will reduce commission fees from 15-30% to 10-20% for subscriptions and e-commerce transactions, with an optional 5% payment processing charge available. App developers can use alternative payment systems, and consumers can download apps from certified alternative stores. These changes represent a settlement after a 2023 jury verdict found Google's practices constituted an illegal monopoly. A federal judge must still approve the alternative app store registration process, though Google is already implementing fee reductions globally, beginning in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.

Read at The Mercury News