Epic Games beats Google in US court over Play Store billing monopoly

Epic Games' long-standing struggle with big mobile device tech and what it sees as unfair practices that "extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation" has most recently resulted in what might be a significant win for the gaming company.

The United States District Court (Northern District of California) has heard Epic Games' antitrust case against Google and has ruled in favor of the former. The court agrees that the Redmond-based behemoth has indeed "wilfully acquired or maintained monopoly power by engaging in anticompetitive conduct", spending "billions of dollars" to prevent or buy out the creation of alternative app stores for the Android platform in the process.

Tim Sweeney's company defines the court's "historic decision" as a "win for all app developers and consumers around the world". On the other hand, if the District Court will take action against the prevailing "only app store in town" model, it has yet to outline these measures to the US public.

Then again, the verdict will reportedly be appealed, in conjunction with assertions that "Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform"

Similarly, it is currently not clear if you might be able to play Fortnite on your new Samsung Galaxy S23-series smartphone bought from Amazon again soon.