The anti-trust tiff between Google and Epic Games went on for over three years. The lawsuit was initially against both Apple and Google for gaining an illegal monopoly with their app stores. However, even though Epic Games dropped the case against Apple a few years ago, the same didn’t happen for Google.
The long-running case between Google and Epic Games came to a close as the jury ruled against Google. It was found that Google has the power over distribution and in-app billing markets. This made it difficult for Epic to penetrate such markets, due to their anti-competitive measures. Thus, the court came down with an iron fist against such illegal measures to gain a competitive edge.
Following the win in the court, Epic Games quoted the following as reported by The Verge:
Today’s verdict is a win for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition, and reduce innovation.
Knowing Xbox has plans for its mobile store app in mind, this decision can favor them as well. However, it is too early to consider as the remedies are yet to be discussed by Judge James Donato.
Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games talked about their success against Google. The testimony gathering went on for 4 weeks and the California jury found Google guilty on multiple accords. Likewise, the CEO stated that the remedies will be discussed in January 2024 and thanked everyone for their support.
Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone’s support and faith! Free Fortnite! https://t.co/ITm4YBHCus
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) December 12, 2023
Additionally, he even talked about Epic’s steps against Apple for their illegal monopolistic measures. According to him, the case is still in queue at the Supreme Court of the US. However, with many digital laws coming out, the story might not go the same way as before.
Why didn’t Epic Games sue Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft?
Epic Games issued their case against tech giants like Apple and Google over their 30% fees on sales and in-app transactions. The same kind of fees are applied on consoles as well, so Epic Games could have sued companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.
From a report made by The Verge on the court hearing, Randy Gelber, the CFO of Epic said the following in September 2022:
Mobile apps are typically low in size and so their costs are higher, and I think their customer service costs are higher because people don’t call Google about apps, they call the developer generally.
Congratulations to you and your internal and external teams on defeating Google!
I just woke up to this news and it’s incredible. You went further than anyone. Various others decided to settle. You remained principled.
— Florian Mueller (@Florian4Gamers) December 12, 2023
In the same report, it was mentioned that the cost structure for gaming consoles differs from that of mobile platforms. He mentioned that console makers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo subsidize the cost of their hardware. This is why it is understandable for consoles to have 30% fees on sales.
It should be noted that Apple hardware is already expensive and the pricing of applications is equally so. This is why Tim Sweeney is still pushing the agenda with the Supreme Court of the US. With Apple facing multiple lawsuits for anti-consumer practices from the European Union, this might stack up in the future.
