The ongoing legal battle between Google and Epic Games has come to an end and both parties have reached a settlement agreement. The end result should represent a net positive for game developers. There are however some hidden elements to the settlement as well!
Details from the Epic Games announcement:
Google has announced significant changes that will open up Android devices to competition in stores and payments, and we’ve settled our disputes with Google worldwide including in the US, Australia, and UK. Android is now fully open to robust competition among mobile app stores outside of the US, and Epic and Google have submitted a proposal to the US District Court to finalize the same here. Globally, developers will have choices in how they make payments using Google Play’s payment system and competing payment systems, with reduced fees and the ability to point users outside apps to make purchases. And Google will take steps to support the future open metaverse.
These changes will evolve Android into a true open platform with competition among stores, as we’ve seen on Windows where Steam, the Epic Games Store, Good Old Games, and others offer consumers and developers real choice and lower prices.
Epic will be investing robustly in serving developers and gamers with the Epic Games Store for Android, and will also be bringing Fortnite back to the Google Play Store worldwide.
Here is Google’s blog post announcing the changes.
Further details from the Google blog:
Expanded billing choice on Google Play for users and developers
Google Play is giving developers even more billing choice and freedom in how they handle transactions. Mobile developers will have the option to use their own billing systems in their app alongside Google Play’s billing, or they can guide users outside of their app to their own websites for purchases. Our goal is to offer this flexibility in a way that maximizes choice and safety for users.
Leading the way in store choice
We’re introducing a program that makes sideloading qualified app stores even easier. Our new Registered App Stores program will provide a more streamlined installation flow for Android app stores that meet certain quality and safety benchmarks.
Once this change has rolled out, app stores that choose to participate in this optional program will have registered with us and so users who sideload them will have a more simplified installation flow (see graphic below). If a store chooses not to participate, nothing changes for them and they retain the same experience as any other sideloaded app on Android.
This gives app stores more ways to reach users and gives users more ways to easily and safely access the apps and games they love.
This Registered App Store program will begin outside of the US first, and we intend to bring it to the US as well, subject to court approval.
Lower pricing and new programs to support developers
Google Play’s fees are already the lowest among major app stores, and today we are taking this even further by introducing a new business model that decouples fees for using our billing system and introduces new, lower service fees. Once this rolls out:
Billing: For those developers who choose to use Google Play’s billing system, they will be charged a market-specific rate separate from the service fee. In the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, and US that rate will be 5%.
Service Fees:
For new installs (first time installs from users after the new fees are launched in a region), we are reducing the in-app purchase (IAP) service fee to 20%.
We are launching an Apps Experience Program and revamping our Google Play Games Level Up program to incentivize building great software experiences across Android form factors associated with clear quality benchmarks and enhanced user benefits. Those developers who choose to participate in these programs will have even lower rates. Participating IAP developers will have a 20% service fee for transactions from existing installs and a 15% fee on transactions from new app installs.
Our service fee for recurring subscriptions will be 10%.
Lower fees, payment choice options and the ability to choose from multiple app stores should prove a boon for game developers. There are however some interesting but redacted stories as part of this settlement agreement as well. First we have the secretive $800M partnership between Epic Games & Google and perhaps more interestingly, Engadget is suggesting that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is being muzzled and is being prevented from saying negative things about Google until 2032 as part of the settlement.
Regardless to the shadier redacted parts of the settlement, the end result is a net win for game developers everywhere. You can learn more about the conclusion of Epic Games v Google in the video below.
