Use Cases
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U.S. District Judge James Donato has warned Google that major changes will be imposed upon its Android app store after a jury determined the Play Store is operating as an illegal monopoly.
The Associated Press reports that Judge Donato suggested he may require Google to allow alternative app stores on Android devices, a move aimed at reducing Google’s dominance over app distribution and billing on its platform. This monopoly with “nearly exclusive control” generates billions annually for Google, but the court’s decision could disrupt this, with Google estimating potential costs of up to $600 million.
Google has expressed concerns that opening the Play Store to third-party app stores could expose users to security risks, leading to what the company describes as “security chaos.” Despite these concerns, Judge Donato emphasized the need for a significant overhaul, stating, “We are going to tear the barriers down; that is going to happen.”
This case is part of a broader antitrust push against Google, with another significant case regarding its search engine set to begin in September. The judge is hoping to issue an order outlining the required changes to the Play Store soon, possibly before Labor Day.
An article from The Verge on the same topic highlights Epic Games benefiting from these results as well, with a subtitle to its article stating, “Judge James Donato will issue his final order on what Google gives — and Epic gets — in mere weeks.”
Related Reading
- News: Apple Revises App Store Link-Out Rules per EU DMA, but New Fees Still High
- News: Apple First to Be Charged With Violating EU DMA by Not Fully Allowing Steering
- News: Japan Enacts Regulatory Law Targeting Apple and Google Smartphone Marketplace Dominance
- News: U.S. Federal Judge and Epic Games Challenge Whether Apple Has Complied With Order to Allow Payment Steering (May 2024)
- Is What Epic Wants for App Stores What Other Game Developers Actually Want? (December 2023)
- News: Potential Apple App Store Policy Changes Due to EU’s Digital Markets Act (November 2023)
- FastSpring CEO David Nachman participated in Epic’s antitrust case against Google. Read FastSpring’s press release on the December 11, 2023 ruling in the case. “This is a win for gamers and studios.”
- Get tips on How to Sell a Mobile App or Game Outside App Stores.
- Already using a merchant of record to monetize your game directly to consumers? Here are seven great reasons to use FastSpring as an additional D2C solution.
About FastSpring
FastSpring is how gaming studios sell in more places around the world. For nearly two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games!
Visit FastSpring’s game monetization page to learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers.
