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Google has lost its appeal to overturn a 2023 verdict that found the company’s Google Play Store guilty of being an illegal monopoly, which could mean the imminent launch of the Epic Games Store on Google Play and easier access to Fortnite on Android.
The ruling from the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals is a win for Epic Games, which sued Google in 2020 after it pulled Fortnite from the Play Store over Epic adding a direct payment option, thereby denying Google a cut of the revenues.
The 2023 verdict prompted US District Judge James Donato in October 2024 to order Google to overhaul its app store business. It required Google to let companies host access to third-party Android app stores on Google Play for the next three years. The company was also barred from striking revenue-sharing deals to install Google Play on Android devices.
Google appealed, but it failed to persuade a panel of three judges on the 9th Circuit. According to the ruling, the tech giant argued the injunction imposed “burdensome contractual restrictions” without merit. However, the judges found: “Just because Google didn’t get something that it proposed (during the remedy phase) is no basis to upend the injunction.”
The ruling also upholds the district court’s injunction against Google. But in a tweet, the tech giant said it plans to appeal again. "This decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem,” it says.
Reuters also notes that today's decision can be appealed to a larger group of judges on the 9th Circuit and possibly to the US Supreme Court.
Still, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is hailing the ruling as a "total victory" and pledged to bring the Epic Games Store for Android to the Google Play Store. Currently, you access it via the web.
Epic sued Apple over the same issue. In late April, Apple was forced to change its rules on the App Store and allow developers to include alternative payment options in the US for the first time.