A jury has decided that Google has turned the Google Play Store and the Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly, a significant victory for Fortnite developer Epic Games three years after it sued the Android developer on antitrust grounds.
The jury unanimously answered yes to all of the questions presented to them on Monday in San Francisco court. It concluded that Google has monopoly power over the Android app stores and in-app billing service markets, that Google engaged in anti-competitive behavior in the markets, and that the behavior caused Epic Games harm. The victory is a change from the California court's 2021 ruling in Epic v. Apple, in which the game developer mostly lost its case against the Big Tech company but gained the ability to charge for its products through third-party interfaces.
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"Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted on X, formerly Twitter.
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
U.S. District Judge James Donato, who oversaw the trial, will now decide what relief Google will have to provide, such as whether it will be forced to open itself up for payment options and app distribution methods outside the Google Play Store. Donato's decision is expected in January.
The Google v. Epic trial differed from the Apple trial for several reasons. It was decided by a jury, while a judge decided the Apple case. The Android operating system is more open in design than Apple's closed operating system. The prosecutors also released evidence of secret revenue-sharing details between the Android developer, smartphone developers, and game designers, which Google executives believed would keep rival app stores limited.
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In August 2020, Epic Games decided to allow Fortnite players to save money by purchasing V-Bucks, the in-game currency, through Epic Games's website. That decision would cut Apple out as the middleman and not require Epic Games to pay Apple a 30% fee on the transactions. Apple and Google retaliated by booting Fortnite from their app stores. Epic Games filed a suit against both companies, alleging they were maintaining an "absolute monopoly."
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers initially ruled that Apple had not breached antitrust law, as Epic Games had originally alleged, but that the company had violated California's Unfair Competition Law and had to amend its app store to fix it. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both decisions in April 2023. Epic tried to get the Supreme Court to let iPhone users purchase apps through other means, but both companies are now waiting to see if the court will take any additional actions.