Epic Games Triumphs in Landmark Case Against Google Over Play Store Monopoly

Google failed to persuade the U.S. appellate court to overturn the jury’s verdict and the federal court’s ruling, which requires the company to make changes to its Play Store. The lower court judge made legal errors in the antitrust case, which unfairly benefited Epic Games, the company that filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020.

The judge stated in the recent ruling that Epic’s case “is filled with evidence that Google’s anti-competitive behavior solidified its dominant position.”

In its lawsuit, Epic accused Google of monopolizing the methods through which users access applications on Android devices and make in-app purchases. The plaintiffs emphasized that Google unlawfully stifled competition.

Last fall, the court ordered Google to restore competition by allowing users to download rival app stores from the Play Store and granting those competitors access to the Play Store catalog.

Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Ann Malhotra, stated that the appellate court’s decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem.

As a result of the verdict, the Epic Games Store will become available on the Google Play Store, wrote Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney.

In May of this year, Fortnite from Epic became available again in the U.S. App Store. Apple had removed the multiplayer game from its store in 2020 after Epic violated platform rules by directing users to external payment pages. In the spring of 2025, a ruling required Apple to allow access to external payment options in the App Store.