Proposed Epic–Google Deal Would Expand Access to the Play Store

Late yesterday, Epic Games and Google announced a settlement of their Google Play Store litigation that, subject to court approval, would open Google’s storefront more widely than ever before.

Like Apple’s revisions to its store in response to the European Commission, Google’s settlement is complex, but here are some of the highlights, as reported by Sean Hollister for The Verge:

Whereas the U.S. District Court’s injunction only applied to the U.S. Play Store, the settlement is global.

The settlement also runs through 2032, which extends beyond the three years ordered by the court.

Google has agreed to reduce its standard fee to 20%, and in some cases, 9% depending on the type of transaction.

Google will create a registration system to allow third-party storefronts.

Developer fees for using Play Billing, Google’s payment system, will be separated from the transaction fees.

As I said, though, there’s a lot more to the proposed settlement that you can read in full in the PDF linked in The Verge’s story, and it’s subject to court approval, but it does seem to reflect significant concessions by Google.

What does this mean for Apple and its App Store skirmishes with regulators around the world? Nothing technically; however, contextually, if the settlement is implemented, it should add to the pressure on Apple to open the App Store more widely in the U.S. and elsewhere.

→ Source: theverge.com