“Fortnite” maker Epic Games’ win against Google could shift the balance of app-store power
Searched and found… meet found and lost. On Monday Google lost its three-year courtroom battle royale against “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. A jury ruled that the search giant violated antitrust laws and used anticompetitive moves to keep “monopoly power” for its Play app store. Google said it plans to appeal. Quick history: in 2020 “Fortnite” got booted from Google’s and Apple’s app stores after it directed players to its own discounted payment system to skirt the “app tax” (a 15-to-30% fee app-store owners skim off purchases). Epic retaliated by suing both tech titans and releasing a #FreeFortnite video parodying a famous Apple ad.
This win’s bigger than Epic… The verdict means Google could be forced to change its app-store rules in favor of thousands of Android developers. At risk: Google’s power to collect billions in fees. Going forward, Google may need to allow competing app stores or make it easier for companies to bypass its fees. A judge will decide next month which actions Google has to take. But Apple’s case had a different outcome:
In April, Apple declared “victory” in its Epic court battle after 9 of 10 of the video-game company’s claims were decided in Apple’s favor.
Different circumstances: During the Google trial, Epic emphasized that Google had reached agreements with top game developers like Nintendo and Activision for smaller fees. Meanwhile, Apple applied its App Store fee evenly.
One win can change the game… Google’s Android controls 70% of the global mobile OS market, while Apple’s iOS has nearly 30% (almost every phone app goes through their stores). Now billions in app fees are on the line. While Apple mostly won its case, there was one important caveat: the ruling said Apple can’t bar developers from steering users to off-app purchasing pages to skirt fees. Coupled with Google’s win, it could mean big changes are downloading.