Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Google finally gave in after coming under pressure from ‘Fortnite’ video game developer, Epic Games. Quoted from Reuters, Thursday (6/11/2025), Google has reached an agreement with Epic Games in court in the United States (US) to overhaul Android and its application store.
The changes include lower commissions from application developers, in order to increase competition and provide wider choices for developers and consumers.
In joint documents released on Tuesday (4/11) this week in San Francisco federal court, Google and Epic Games asked US District Judge James Donato to consider settling Epic Games’ proposed anti-monopoly lawsuit in 2020.
In its lawsuit, Epic Games accused Google of illegally monopolizing the way users access applications and make in-app purchases on Android devices.
Google has denied these accusations. The latest proposal submitted by Google and Epic Games requires approval from Donato.
In a trial court in 2023, the judge decided that Epig Games won. Last year, a judge ordered the Google Play Store app store to be widely overhauled. However, Google said the command was ‘excessive’.
Google argues that its app store reforms have the potential to harm its competitiveness, as well as risking user security.
In the new proposal, Google will make it easier for users to download and install apps from third-party app stores that meet its new security standards.
App developers are also permitted to directly offer alternative payment methods to users, either within the app or via external web links.
Google will also apply a limited service fee of 9% or 20% for transactions in applications distributed by the Play Store application store and using alternative payment options. This limitation applies to apps first installed or updated from the Google Play Store after October 30, 2025.
Google’s President of the Android Ecosystem, Sameer Samat, said the latest filing will maintain user security while increasing flexibility for developers and consumers.
Samat added that Google is waiting for settlement discussions with Donato. They will meet with the lawyers involved on Thursday (6/11) local time at a scheduled hearing.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called Google’s latest proposal “cool” and reflects Android’s original vision as an open platform.
(fab/fab)
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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