Epic Games has won against Google, after the jury found that the search giant has indeed established a monopoly with its Play Store and Google Play Billing Service.

Epic Games Emerges Victorious in Legal Battle Against Google; Play Store Ruled as Unlawful Monopoly

Epic Games, developer of the popular video game Fortnite and creator of the Unreal Engine, has won the Epic v. Google legal battle against Google over Epic’s claims that Google maintains an illegal monopoly on its app store.

As reported by The Verge, a San Francisco jury found that Google has indeed established a monopoly with its Play Store and Google Play billing service. The jury also found that Google’s anticompetitive monopoly was used to harm Epic.

Epic posted on its company blog: “Today’s ruling is a victory for all app developers and consumers around the world. It shows that Google’s app store practices are illegal and that they are abusing their monopoly to collect exorbitant fees, stifle competition and stifle innovation.”

It added: “During the trial, we saw evidence that Google was willing to pay billions of dollars to suppress alternative app stores by paying developers to give up their own store operations and direct distribution plans, and by offering highly lucrative deals with device manufacturers in exchange for shutting out competing app stores.” “

It’s worth noting that Epic lost a similar case against Apple about two years ago. Despite several online campaigns, including the popular “Free Fortnite” campaign against Apple to garner more support, all efforts failed.

However, it’s not clear what this development would mean for Epic in the long term, as it has yet to decide what the solution would be, The Verge reported. But one thing is clear: Epic is not demanding monetary compensation, but wants a revamped App Store system. More should be revealed when Judge James Donato delivers the sentence.

Meanwhile, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was also quick to post on X to celebrate the win. “Victory for Google! After four weeks of detailed court testimony, a California jury found Google Play’s antitrust monopoly on all counts. Work on the court’s remedies will begin in January. Thank you all for your support and faith! Free Fortnite!” he said.