Video game developer Epic Games wins anti-trust trial against Google

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - American video game developer Epic Games won Monday its anti-trust trial against Google in a legal battle that lasted around three years.

A jury, in US District Court Northern District of California, delivered in its verdict that Google turned its Google Play app store and Google Play billing service into an illegal monopoly.

It said Google has monopoly in Android app distribution market and in-app billing services for digital goods and services transactions.

"Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January. Thanks for everyone’s support and faith! Free Fortnite!" Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X.

"This is an example of the greatness of the American justice system. A billion dollar company challenges a trillion dollar company over complex antitrust practices, and a jury of 9 citizens hears the testimony and renders a verdict," he said.

Epic Games, the maker of popular video game Fortnite, argued that Google is acting as a monopoly and charging 30% commission on in-app purchases on its app store Google Play.

Google, on the other hand, rejects the claim that Google Play is a monopoly as it competes with Apple, and argues that there are other methods to download apps on Android phones.

Apple and Google both removed Fortnite from their app stores in 2020 as the game was using its own payments system and avoided giving the two companies a share of sales.

Both companies take 30% of purchases on their app stores.

Epic Games filed lawsuits against both Apple and Google in 2020, while Google countersued Epic Games in October 2021.