Epic Games and Google have agreed to reach an agreement his long-running antitrust lawsuit. The agreement turns Judge James Donato’s US-only court order into a global agreement that extends through June 2032. Google will reduce its standard app store fees to 20% or 9%, depending on the type of transaction.
The company will also create a program in the next major version of Android that will allow alternative app stores to register and become what Google calls first-class citizens. Users will be able to install these registered app stores from a website with a single click using neutral language.
The deal addresses Epic’s concerns about friction and scare screens that discouraged downloading. Google will charge a 5% fee for transactions using Google Play Billing, in addition to its service fee. Alternative payment options should be displayed alongside Google Play Billing.
