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The Fortnite creator just scored an Epic victory against Google! In 2020, Google removed Fortnite from the Play Store for violating its policies. This happened shortly after Apple removed the popular videogame as well. However, Epic Games did not go down with a fight and took both companies to court.
Epic’s case against Apple was not successful, but the Fortnite maker achieved a lot more success against Google. Not only did Epic win a major antitrust case, but the company will also receive a court remedy in early 2024.
Epic Games with a historic win against Google
Shortly after Fortnite was taken off the App Store and Google Play, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against both Apple and Google. The case against Apple even reached the Supreme Court at one point, but Epic couldn’t win it.
Epic’s antitrust trial against Google began on November 6. The Fortnite creator accused the tech giant of abusing control over Play Store, its digital marketplace on Android devices. On Monday, the jury found Google guilty on all counts, including whether it has a monopoly with app distribution on Android phones.
This is a massive victory for Epic Games and a rare loss for Google, which may have to change its business to comply with the law. Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic, revealed that the Court’s work on remedies will start in January 2024.
At the moment, the only way Android users can download Fortnite is through Epic’s official website. Unfortunately, this process is quite complicated, and many users give up due to security concerns. Thanks to the lawsuit against Google, Epic Games may eventually be allowed to put the popular videogame on Play Store. However, this may not happen very soon.
Finally, the lawsuit may result in a big tax change for the big tech. Right now, most digital storefronts charge a 30% tax, which is something Epic doesn’t consider fair. In contrast, Epic Games uses an 88-12 revenue split with app developers on the Epic Games Store, taking only 12% of the revenue.
