In 2020, Fortnite maker Epic Games sued Google over its monopoly of the app store marketplace. Three years later, it won the case with a US jury deciding that Google’s Play Store practices were indeed illegal, after which Epic Games said that it wanted the tech giant to open up its app store to more players.
Now, a ruling by a US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Google will have to lift Play Store restrictions that prevented app developers from listing third-party app stores and billing systems.
Last year, Google had managed to temporarily pause a permanent injunction that would open up Android to third-party app stores. For those wondering, users had to head over to the Epic Games website to download the APK file for the Epic Games Store, which allows them to download and install games like Fortnite.
In a post on X, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney declared “total victory” in its antitrust case against Google and said that the verdict meant that Epic Games Store will soon be listed on the Google Play Store. If you are not a Fortnite player or a mobile gamer interested in Epic Games’ offering, the judgment may come off as a small win, but the consequences of this ruling will have long long-lasting effect on Google’s revenue.
Thanks to the verdict, the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store! It’s already available worldwide from our web site, https://t.co/f77ZSrBMGd.
Epic Games Store for PC already carries several other PC stores (https://t.co/92elnB3IGv, GOG Galaxy). https://t.co/4ndkMmhLUX
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 31, 2025
The new ruling means that Google will be forced to open up its app store to competition, allow users to download third-party app stores like Aptoide from the Play Store, set up alternate in-app purchase billing systems and even give rivals access to all apps available on Google’s app store.
During the Epic vs Google trial, several top Google executives, including CEO Sundar Pichai, were called to testify and read internal emails and receipts. The jury hearing the case also saw secretive deals between Google, Spotify, smartphone manufacturers and game developers.
The trial also exposed internal emails between Google executives, which mentioned how the tech giant was scared that Tim Sweeney’s Epic Games would convince game developers to join its app store or create new ones, which would ultimately create more competition for Google and put a dent in its revenue.
Google has now said that it would once again appeal to a court, but did not disclose which court it would go to. And while it hasn’t revealed what its new appeal will ask for, it is unlikely that the decision to allow third-party app stores on the Google Play Store will be undone. However, since Google’s parent company, Alphabet, does not disclose app store revenue in its earnings separately, it will be hard to say how the decision will monetarily impact Google. Still, Google may lose out on anywhere between a few million to more than a billion every year.
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