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Title: Google and Epic Games reach settlement for antitrust lawsuit

Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:00:19 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-and-...

Google and Epic Games have reached a settlement that would bring their years-
long court battle to a close. The companies have filed a proposal in the
federal court of San Francisco, asking US District Judge James Donato to
approve a modified version of the order he originally imposed on Google when
it lost the case. "Together with Epic Games we have filed a proposed set of
changes to Android and Google Play that focus on expanding developer choice
and flexibility, lowering fees, and encouraging more competition all while
keeping users safe," said Sameer Samat, the President of Android Ecosystem at
Google, on X.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney praised the proposal for "genuinely [doubling]
down on Android's original vision as an open platform to streamline competing
store installs globally, reduce service fees for developers on Google Play
and enable third-party in-app and web payments." Epic Games sued Google in
2020, accusing it of an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app
billing services for Android devices.

The court sided with Epic Games in late 2023, and Google lost its appeal in
July this year. Google tried to ask the Supreme Court to block the injunction
Donato handed down, which required the company to make major changes to the
Play Store, while it appealed the case again. But the Supreme Court denied
its request. That means Google will be prohibited from paying manufacturers
and app developers to exclusively install and distribute on the Play Store,
respectively. It will also be prohibited from forcing developers to only use
its payment system, and it will have to allow third-party app stores to be
installed on Android devices.

Google will still have to follow most of Donato's orders under the proposal,
but the companies made some modifications. To start with, they've worked out
how to "allow developers and users to seamlessly use alternative payment
mechanisms," both in-app and via external links, while adhering to Google's
security and safety standards. They've also specified the maximum fees Google
can charge for external payments, which are 9 percent or 20 percent,
depending on the type of transaction. The companies have identified
"reasonable, neutral criteria" that third-party stores would be required to
meet, as well. Users will easily be able to download stores that meet those
criteria so they can compete against the Play Store and each other around the
world.

Samat said that the companies are meeting with Judge Donato on Thursday, and
if he approves of the proposal, it "would resolve [the] litigations."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/google-and-epic-games-reach-settlement-for-antitrust-lawsuit-
120019374.html?src=rss

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