Google loses appeal against Epic Games, allowing the Epic Games Store to appear on Google Play



In an appeals court hearing in which Epic Games sued Google, alleging that Google's app store, Google Play, was a violation of antitrust laws by charging developers fees, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the first instance ruling that accepted Epic Games' argument.

Epic just won its Google lawsuit again, and Android may never be the same | The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/news/716856/epic-v-google-win-in-appeals-court

Google Loses Appeal of Order to Revamp App Store Policies - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-31/epic-games-win-over-google-in-fortnite-fight-upheld-on-appeal

Google loses app store antitrust appeal, must make sweeping changes to Play Store - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/07/google-loses-app-store-antitrust-appeal-must-make-sweeping-changes-to-play-store/

Epic Games, known as the developer of 'Fortnite,' introduced its own payment method in 2020 in response to the 15% to 30% commission fees imposed on app purchases and in-app purchases through the App Store. This resulted in the app being removed from the App Store for violating its terms of service, and the company sued Google and Apple, claiming that the fee collection constituted an antitrust violation.

In the lawsuit against Google, a first-instance ruling was handed down in 2023 in favor of Epic Games.

California court rules in favor of Epic Games in antitrust lawsuit against Google - GIGAZINE



Google appealed the ruling, but on Thursday, July 31, 2025 (local time), three judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the first-instance ruling that 'Google's app store and payment system constitute an illegal monopoly,' dismissing Google's appeal.

Following the decision, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted a victory message to X.



As a result of the aforementioned lawsuit, Google was ordered to allow third-party app stores to distribute on Google Play. Google sought a stay of the order and won a stay of the order in 2024, but Judge Margaret McCune of the Court of Appeals stated, 'The motion to stay the order is moot in light of this court's decision and is therefore denied.'

Google temporarily avoids opening up the Google Play Store in lawsuit against Epic Games - GIGAZINE



This means that Google will have to allow rival app stores to distribute on Google Play for three years, so the Android version of Epic Games' game app store, the Epic Games Store, should also be available for download from Google Play.

Download Epic Games for Android - Epic Games Store

https://store.epicgames.com/ja/mobile/android



Lee-Ann Mulholland, Google's global head of regulatory affairs, said, 'This decision significantly reduces user safety, limits choice, and undermines the innovation at the heart of the Android ecosystem. Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers, and partners, and we will continue to advocate for and maintain a safe platform.'

in Note, Posted by logc_nt