LogInGoogle agreed to lower its fee.
Epic
Epic Games has been in and out of court with Google for years, trying to make its own store available on Android devices by accusing Google of a payment system monopoly.
Several months ago, Epic won once again when Google's appeal was refused, meaning Google would have to distribute other app stores in Google Play and give competitors access to the full catalog of GP apps. It would also be banned from a requirement that apps use Google Play Billing.
However, the lawsuit has suddenly taken a new turn, and Epic and Google have agreed to settle with new conditions. The previous ruling only applied to the United States and would have lasted 3 years, but the new agreement might change the tide for the whole world.
As reported by The Verge, Google is agreeing to reduce its standard fee to 20% or 9%, depending on the kind of transaction (20 for a purchase that provides "more than a de minimis gameplay advantage" and 9 if it doesn't), and to create a new program in the next version of Android where alternative app stores can register with Google, so users can install them easily. These changes seem to be applied to developers around the world until June 2032.
"Exciting news! Together with Epic Games we have filed a proposed set of changes to Android and Google Play that focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, lowering fees, and encouraging more competition all while keeping users safe. If approved, this would resolve our litigations. We look forward to discussing further with the Judge on Thursday," said Sameer Samat, the president of Google's Android ecosystem.
Tim Sweeney, Epic's CEO, who has been fighting monopolies for a long time now, also had something to say:
"Google has made an awesome proposal, subject to court approval, to open up Android in the US Epic v Google case and settle our disputes. 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."
The proposal says that the 20% or 9% fee mentioned before doesn't include Google’s cut for Play Billing, which is 5%, according to Google's spokesperson Dan Jackson: "This new proposed model introduces a new, lower fee structure for developers in the US and separates the service fee from fees for using Google Play Billing."
While the Google Play store is "free to assess service fees on transactions, including when developers elect to use alternative billing mechanisms," it may not happen in practice: "If the user chooses to pay through an alternative billing system, the developer pays no billing fee to Google," Jackson told The Verge.
According to the proposal, Google could theoretically get its cut when you click out to an app developer’s website and pay for the app there if it happens within 24 hours.
So if the agreement gets approved, alternative payment options will be shown together with Google Play Billing, and developers will be able to set their own prices.
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