Google and Epic Games are both trumpeting a proposed settlement to the latter company’s 2020 lawsuit, two years after a federal judge ruled the Google Play application store constituted an illegal monopoly.
According to The Verge, the settlement (which needs to be approved by the judge) introduces a new tiered service fee system that allows developers to retain a larger cut of each transaction for their apps. Google will cap its fees at nine or 20 percent depending on the type of transaction and the date on which the app was installed.
Google can still charge another fee for transactions that take place through Play Billing, though developers will now be able to include alternative payment options that can be shown side-by-side with Google’s in-game purchasing platform. They would be free to set different prices for transactions on alternative platforms.
This is a compromise on Epic’s part. The company previously demanded Google stop forcing developers to implement Google Play Billing.
Finally, Google is promising to remove “scare screens” and allow easy installation of approved alternative app stores. App store operators can seek approval through a “Registered App Store” program.
Over on X, Android president Sameer Samat said these changes “focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, lowering fees, and encouraging more competition all while keeping users safe.”
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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney concurred, calling the propose settlement “awesome.” “It genuinely doubles 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,” he said.
He then took a swing at iOS creator Apple, which Epic is still brawling with in court. “This is a comprehensive solution, which stands in contrast to Apple’s model of blocking all competing stores and leaving payments as the only vector for competition.”
Update 11/5: This story has been updated with correct information on Google’s new Play Store fees. A previous version incorrectly defined the percentages as being tied to the type of in-game transactions.