Tim Sweeney has waited three years for this day, since the launch of his public offensive against Apple and Google, whom he has always criticized for unjustifiably blocking the iOS and Android application markets to their advantage. Dismissed by the judge in charge of the case against Apple, Epic Games has, however, just won its case from the members of the jury in the case against Google. They were convinced by Epic Games’ arguments aimed at demonstrating that the Google Play Store and its billing system constitute an illegal monopoly.
As reported by The Verge, a few hours of deliberation were enough for the jury to answer in the affirmative to all the questions asked: yes, Google has monopoly power over the Google Play Store. Yes, Google acted anticompetitively in this market. And yes, Epic Games suffered harm as a result of this behavior. Google is also accused of maintaining an illegal link between its Google Play application store and its billing service and of having spent fortunes to reach agreements with developers to prevent them from trying to circumvent the Google Play Store like Epic Games did it.
The big commission
As a reminder, in 2018, Epic Games made the improbable decision to release the Android version of Fortnite outside of the Google Play Store in order to circumvent the 30% commission that Google collects on each transaction, which however results in a less immediate installation process. Titulated, not to say frightened by the audacity of Epic Games, Google then secretly launched a program called “Project Hug” to encourage other developers to stay warm on the Google Play Store. Documents presented in court showed that Google had spent hundreds of millions of dollars in agreements with around twenty top developers so that the latter would not have the funny idea of wanting to bypass Google Play. Store in turn. Unlike the App Store, Google allows the presence of alternative stores. A pure illusion, according to Epic Games, which emphasizes that more than 95% of Android applications go through the Google market.
Unsurprisingly, Google confirmed its intention to appeal the verdict, considering that the accusation of monopoly is unfounded given the presence of platforms like that of Apple or even console manufacturers. “ Apple and Google being present in the same market, Google cannot have monopoly power », had also argued Jonathan Kravis, Google’s lawyer. In this regard, remember that Tim Sweeney has already explained on several occasions that he does not intend to attack Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, who also recover 30% of all sales and other microtransactions. Tim Sweeney’s reasoning is that this tax is justified in the case of console manufacturers who spend fortunes on R&D to develop these machines, which is not the case for Apple and Google. “ Google imposes a 30% tax on developers simply because it has prevented any viable competitors from emerging to offer better deals. Google executives admitted in court that their offer of a 26% rate on third-party payment options is a false choice for developers », Explains Epic Games.
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
While Google is stunned by this verdict, at Epic Games, it is the taste of victory that predominates. “ Today’s verdict is a victory for all app developers and consumers around the world. It proves that Google’s app store practices are illegal and that they are abusing their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation », We can read on the company website. “ During the trial, we saw evidence that Google was willing to spend billions of dollars to stifle alternative app stores by paying developers to abandon their own store efforts and distribution plans. direct, and offering very lucrative deals with device manufacturers in exchange for exclusion from competing app stores. »
And concretely?
Despite this legitimate feeling of victory, it is still impossible to assess what Epic Games has really won. In addition to Google’s appeal, it is up to Judge James Donato, 63, to determine what changes are appropriate so that Google is no longer considered a monopolist. It is good to note that this time, money will not solve anything: Epic Games has not asked for the slightest compensation and above all wants each developer to be able to set up, easily and without pressure, their own application store on Android to bypass Google’s commission if that is their wish. Both parties will meet with Judge Donato during the second week of January to discuss possible solutions. As for Google’s very busy lawyers, they will be able to justify their salary a little more, the American courts having decided to attack the Alphabet subsidiary for another monopoly situation, this time in the field of search engines.
While the blow to Google delights some observers who believe that seeing a tech giant waver in its certainties is always a good thing to do, others are on the contrary worried about the possible repercussions of this verdict in their daily lives. Because while it is certainly permissible to compare the dominant positions of Apple and Google to a monopoly on the application markets, many users are used to their current comfort which allows them to find all the applications within the same market, namely the App Store on one side and the Google Play Store on the other.
On PC, just look at the hostility that many Steam users harbor towards the Epic Games Store simply because of its existence and the supreme discomfort that seeing their catalog represents for them. ‘scatter between different launchers and stores. “ I hope Google appeals and destroys Epic. I don’t want a million different app stores on all my devices », Complains a user of a famous forum. “ Although we would like to think that greater freedom is beneficial, there is a good chance that things will get worse for consumers. Having multiple stores with multiple policies would mean multiple accounts and multiple potential security breaches », underlines another.
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