Google has been granted a temporary stay by the judge in the Epic Games lawsuit about Play Store access, which will enable the tech giant to bar competitors from using the Android app store for an indeterminate amount of time.
According to Epic and Google, the administrative stay prevents the Android shop from imposing limits on third-party app shops by November 1st, as reported by The Verge. In addition to opposing the December 2023 finding that its store constituted an illegal monopoly, Google has been contesting the order for weeks.
Officially, the stay postpones the order until an appeals court of the Ninth Circuit makes a decision over a longer pushback. Judge James Donato, however, seems to anticipate that stay being granted, so permitting Google to continue its current business operations unless the judgment is reversed.
The directive would have permitted Play Store developers to discontinue their use of Google’s official in-app payment system. Additionally, Google would not have been permitted to use some financial incentives to promote adherence to its payment system. The tech company would have had eight months to let third-party stores, like the Epic Games Store, open in the Play Store.
Google said in a statement to Techopedia that it was “pleased” with the stay and described Epic’s proposed alterations as “dangerous.” They were accused of endangering the security and safety of the Play Store. Epic chose not to comment.
The request for a postponement is not unexpected. According to Priori Data, Google made over $45.6 billion from the Play Store in 2023, with gaming accounting for the majority of that total ($34.3 billion). Developers that believe Google takes an excessive cut or imposes too many restrictions may see a big decline in revenue if they are allowed to utilize alternative in-app charging methods. Although users may already sideload apps or entire app stores, the Play Store is far more practical because of its wider reach.
Since Fortnite was removed from the Play Store for allowing users to choose to utilize Epic’s billing system and so pay less for content, Epic has been one of the most outspoken critics of Google’s policies. It has made such charges against Samsung and Apple and intends to launch the Games Store via Google in 2025.
Otherwhere, Epic has had varying degrees of success. Although it isn’t accessible through Apple’s App Store, the European Union’s Digital Markets Act allows you to download the Epic Games Store for iOS. Additionally, Apple was successful in postponing for more than two years the necessity to permit guiding or demonstrating to customers how to use payment systems that are not Apple.
Layoffs, the Games Store, and Fortnite’s continued success have all contributed to Epic’s financial stability. This year, a victory wasn’t necessary. Without a doubt, though, the stay forces Epic to find alternative revenue streams in place of relying on the mobile Games Store’s successful debuts.
