'Fortnite' maker Epic Games, Google say they're settling 5-year legal fight over Android app store

"They said it "would allow the parties to put their disputes aside while making Android a more vibrant and competitive platform for users and developers." Epic, which makes the hit online game Fortnite, won a victory over the summer when a federal appeals court upheld a jury verdict condemning Google's Android app store as an illegal monopoly. The unanimous ruling cleared the way for a federal judge to enforce a potentially disruptive shake-up that's designed to give consumers more choices."

"The specific terms of the settlement agreement remain under seal and must be approved by U.S. District Judge James Donato, but the two companies broadly outlined some of their agreements in their joint filing. They said the settlement closely follows Donato's October 2024 ruling ordering Google to tear down the digital walls shielding its Android app store from competition. That included a provision that will require its app store to distribute rival third-party app stores so consumers can download them to their phones,"

"Google had hoped to void those changes with an appeal, but the ruling issued in July by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a legal blow for the tech giant, which has been waylaid in three separate antitrust trials affecting different pillars of its internet empire. Epic Games filed lawsuits targeting Google's Play Store as well as Apple's iPhone app store in 2020 in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged 15% to 30% commissions on in-app transactions."

Epic Games and Google reached a comprehensive settlement that could end Epic's five-year legal challenge to Google's Play Store. The companies filed a joint legal document in a San Francisco federal court outlining agreements that require court approval and keep specific terms under seal. The settlement closely follows U.S. District Judge James Donato's October 2024 ruling to remove digital barriers in the Android app ecosystem and includes a provision requiring the Play Store to distribute rival third-party app stores. The Ninth Circuit upheld a jury verdict condemning Google's Play Store as an illegal monopoly. The agreement calls for Google to limit in-app transaction commissions to between 9% and 20%.

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