Companies at the very top of the food chain always need to be careful so as not to be monopolizing the market. Google offers the Play Store as a way for app developers to easily host their applications to a worldwide Android audience. However, Epic Games has come Google (and Apple) for what it calls an app store monopoly.
Epic took Google to court and quite surprisingly, after several years, it was determined that Google truly does have a monopoly when it comes to Android app distribution and billing and has been anticompetitive in many regards. This win could mean Google needing to host the Epic Games Store in the Play Store. Wild, I know.
Quickly; What You Need To Know About The Epic Vs. Google Trial
Here's some quick background. Back in 2020, Epic Games, most popularly known for being the developer behind the ultra-popular Fortnite (though I love them most for Jazz Jackrabbit, made back when they went by Epic MegaGames), took Google to court. Why? They said that Google had an illegal monopoly over Android app distribution because of the Google Play Store. Supposedly, the company found ways to steer users towards the Play Store and steer them away from other stores, like Epic's for instance.
Well, the trial happened late last year and the verdict? Epic won. Yep, that's right. Unlike a similar trial that the company had with Apple (though it is not out of the hot water in other territories), a jury found that Google was truly making things anticompetitive. While the verdict was in as of late last year, it wasn't yet certain exactly what Epic would be getting as compensation for its crusade; at least not until today (more on that soon)
Unsurprisingly, the search giant has appealed the decision, which means that actual changes might take some time before they show up.
One Of Epic's Demands Is To Have The Epic Games Store Available In The Play Store
Now that you're up to speed (if you weren't already), Epic's epic win means that the list of demands it shared to make things more competitive and topple the monopoly is being considered. The document with the company's demands is 16 pages long, but for the sake of brevity, there are two massive demands being made.
The first is that Google should start hosting other app stores, such as Epic's, within the Play Store for a period of six years. That means the Epic Games Store and other stores like Amazon's or Samsung's could actually have their own listing pages in Google's massive market. The other major demand is to give third-party app stores access to the entire Google Play Store catalog of applications for six years. These are huge asks, among others.
Judge James Donato, who presided over the case, has told Google to hit the abacus and determine the cost, in terms of effort and finances, to comply with all of Epic's demands. This is expected by June 24th. This means that the court might actually let Epic have its way in terms of those demands, which would surely shake things up monumentally.
