Epic and Google have resolved their long-running legal disputes over the Play Store.
It means that Fortnite will be returning to Google Play soon, and the Play Store will be reducing store fees this year in many major markets. The rest of the world will follow by September 30 2027.
Google said that its native billing system will now be effectively decoupled from the Play Store, meaning developers around the world will be able to choose any payment provider they please for IAPs.
Google’s blog explaining the changes reads: “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.”
The tech giant is also reducing its store fees, though it’s a little complex. Google’s flat 30% cut of most IAPs is effectively going down to 20%. Google’s cut of IAPs in ‘new installs’ drops to 15% if a developer signs up to Google’s ‘Games Level-Up’ program.
If a developer uses the native Google Play billing, Google will take another 5% in the EU, UK and US – a similar rate to most third party payment providers. Google said that “market-specific rates” would apply outside of the US, UK and EU, but did not confirm those rates. No fees are charged by Google for those using alternative payment providers.
The new pricing structure is coming to the EU, UK and US by June 30, Australia by September 30, Korea and Japan by December 31 and the rest of the world by September 30 2027.
Google is also rolling out new, easier ways for players to sideload alternative app stores through a new Registered App Stores program. That will begin in international markets first, before coming to the US. It claims to offer a cleaner, more user-friendly install process.
Both Epic and Google said that as of today, all legal disputes between the companies are over.
Epic also welcomed the changes in its own blog. It also confirmed that Fortnite will be coming back to the Play Store worldwide.
“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,” the Fortnite maker said.
“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.”
