Epic Games Wins Against Google in Illegal Monopoly Battle

On August 13, 2023, Epic Games had a busy day with tech giants Apple and Google as the Fortnite maker took action against their taxes and took them to court. In the beginning, Epic claimed it was bypassing its app store fees with a hotfix update for Fortnite without the companies knowing. Gamers could directly purchase V-Bucks through its payment method option at a discount. Both Apple and Google were quick to react to this information by kicking Fortnite off their app stores almost immediately.

Following the event, Epic Games was ready to counter this with two lawsuits alongside an attack ad. While it was a new challenge to face for both the tech Giants, Epic took the victory.

Also Read: Apple To Take Epic Games To The Supreme Court

Epic Games Triumphs Over Google With Jury's Support Against Later's Illegal Monopoly

The jury in the Epic vs Google case has delivered a verdict where the former has won. Epic Games had a strong case against Apple and Google regarding allegedly running illegal app store monopolies. In the verdict, the jury found Google turned its Google Play app store and Billing service into an illegal monopoly. After hours of discussion, the jury concluded Google's monopoly power in the Android app distribution markets. Moreover, the in-app billing services markets also made the same impression on the jury for many reasons including the anticompetitive measures against other users like the Fortnite maker.

Epic Games claimed that it was injured by Google's behavior regarding the billing and Play Store policies that hampered their regular income from the consumers as they took a hit on every in-game purchase before the hotfix on V-Bucks. The Fortnite maker also claimed that Google has an illegal tie between its app store and billing services that affects its distribution agreement, Project Hug deals with developers and with OEMs.

Despite the victory, Judge Donato on the trial has stated that he will not be granting Epic's additional request for an anti-circumvention provision. Epic's lead attorney, Gary Bornstein stated on November 28, 2023, that the Fortnite maker wants to be sure that Google cannot reintroduce the same issue through any alternative solution. However, to this statement, Donato has responded that the court does not support such injunctions. He further stated that Epic can come back to the court if they have a similar problem in the future. Donato was also frank about the percentage fee regarding Google's charges as he said he does not intend to decide what cut will the company charge for its products.