Epic Vs Google Takes A Wild Turn As Secret $800M Pact Surfaces In Court

A rather interesting development has come out of the Epic Games vs. Google court case. The court has revealed the existence of an $800 million agreement between the two corporations, and they are insisting that the court no longer needs to enforce its ruling since the two have reached a settlement. The original settlement insists that Google reduces its app store fees globally (not just within the United States) and create a "Registered App Stores" program, which still involves vendors paying fees. A new, separate proposal suggests that developers who want to avoid Google's payment systems instead be required to enroll in Google programs where Google is paid per app-download in exchange for slightly lower app store fees.

The new proposal sounds pro-Google, but may be a prerequisite for the planned $800 million deal, which would span the next six years. The full scope of the Epic and Google deal is currently undisclosed, but details revealed to the court indicate that the plan involves Epic helping Google market Android and Google using "Epic's core technology (Unreal Engine)", including a healthy Fortnite on Android promotion. At time of writing, the game is available on the Google Play Store and no longer limited to just Epic's third-party store app.


Critics of the deal, including California District Judge James Donato presiding over the case, have pointed out that it may indicate a "quid pro quo" that reduced Epic's incentive to push for terms that would benefit other developers. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney disputes this notion since they're the ones paying Google, considering it "a significant transfer of value from Epic to Google" and claiming that the Epic Games Store wouldn't get special treatment on Android under this deal. At time of writing, a final judgement on which settlement the court will approve is unknown, but we do know what outcome Google and Epic would like to have, per The Verge's coverage.