Epic’s win over Google “spells trouble for app stores”

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox This week’s verdict in the antitrust trial between Epic and Google is not just a significant step forward for the former’s legal crusade against app stores, but potentially a landmark moment in the evolution of the mobile market. The jury voted unanimously that Epic won on every count, deeming the dominance of Google Play and the requirement for developers to use its billing system – entitling Google to 30% of all transactions – to be monopolistic and anti-competitive. It’s a decision that could have repercussions for the entire mobile industry and a more decisive victory than Epic’s 2021 court battle against Apple, where the judge ruled in favour of the Fortnite firm on just one of ten counts. GamesIndustry.biz spoke to lawyers and analysts about the implications of this verdict, with Richard Hoeg, managing partner of The Hoeg Law Firm, telling us that challenging Google was always going to be easier for Epic because the company does not control the hardware ecosystem for Android. He also believes it’s quite telling how quickly the verdict was given: “This was a long trial, and a speedy verdict suggests there was not much conflict in the jury room on some key points such as market definitions and the like. I also think that the split of the Apple and Google cases may result in exactly the opposite of what ‘open’ ecosystem proponents would like. “Google has effectively been penalised for its semi-open approach while Apple’s walled garden is, so far, permitted. That may cause Google and other businesses to consider walled gardens a superior legal compliance solution.” “If upheld, the decision will pave the way for increased competition and innovation, reshaping the digital landscape for both developers and consumers” David B. Hoppe, Gamma Law David B. Hoppe, managing partner of Gamma Law, adds that when combined with the 2021 judgement against Apple, which ordered the iPhone firm to cease its anti-steering practices, this week’s verdict “seems to signal the beginning of the end for app store monopolies.” “If upheld, the decision will pave the way for increased competition and innovation, reshaping the digital landscape for both developers and consumers,” he says. Yoshio Osaki, president and CEO of market research and strategic consulting firm IDG Consulting, believes this verdict is the correct one, saying that Google does have “monopolistic app storefront power” on Android (excluding China) and that the 30% fee “was an arbitrary take rate that should be revisited based on deteriorating margins for game developers in the mobile landscape.” However, the disparity between the jury’s verdict here and the judge’s ruling in 2021 makes the issue more complex. “I am not a lawyer, but two similar cases, with both defendants sharing similar monopolistic power dynamics in their respective app store ecosystems, leading to two diametrically opposed outcomes and therefore two different legal
Game Industry source