> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://aftermath.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# The Latest Ruling In Epic's Case Against Google Is *Sigh* Kind Of A Big Deal
- URL: https://aftermath.site/epic-google-app-store-ruling/
- Published: 2024-10-08T14:23:02.000Z
- Updated: 2025-10-27T17:11:36.000Z
- Author: Riley MacLeod
- Tags: Blog, Video Games, apple, epic, Fortnite, google, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-10-27 13:00

Back in December, Epic Games [won its case](https://aftermath.site/epic-wins-google-case-which-i-did-not-see-coming/) against Google, which began all the way back in 2020 when Epic[ launched its own store](https://kotaku.com/apple-removes-fortnite-from-app-store-1844717397?ref=aftermath.site) on Apple and Google phones and was subsequently banned from their app stores. Epic mostly lost against Apple, but things on the Google front went way better for the company. Yesterday, the judge handed down his final ruling, ordering Google to change its policies in some major ways. Also Tim Sweeney made a groan-worthy joke about it.

As [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/policy/2024/10/7/24243316/epic-google-permanent-injunction-ruling-third-party-stores?ref=aftermath.site) summarizes, Judge James Donato ordered Google to open up its app store for three years, letting alternate stores like Epic’s mobile Games Store app onto Google Play proper. These stores also aren’t obligated to use Google Play Billing, and can point users to other download and payment options (a big sticking point during both trials). Additionally, Google can’t [incentivize developers](https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/9/23954107/here-is-the-full-list-of-developers-google-targeted-with-project-hug-deals-in-2019?ref=aftermath.site) to launch their apps on the Play store or [*not* to launch](https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/9/23954111/google-boasted-it-got-riot-games-not-to-launch-its-own-app-store-by-offering-10m?ref=aftermath.site) on other stores or on their own, practices we learned it engaged in during the [trial](https://www.theverge.com/23959932/epic-v-google-trial-antitrust-play-store-fortnite-recap?ref=aftermath.site) to the tune of eye-watering sums.

Google has, of course, [appealed](https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/epic-games-verdict-appeal/?ref=aftermath.site) the ruling. In its statement, it cites the Apple ruling, writing that “Apple and Google compete directly” for customers and developers, and that “The initial decision and today’s Epic-requested changes… undercut Android’s ability to compete with Apple’s iOS.”

On Twitter, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney cheered the ruling, [writing](https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1843394694975500310?ref=aftermath.site) that “all app developers, store makers, carriers, and manufacturers have 3 years to build a vibrant and competitive Android ecosystem with such critical mass that Google can't stop it.” Then, when Google appealed, he [wrote](https://x.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1843423301169013162?ref=aftermath.site), “Google has announced it will a peel” and tweeted a picture of *Fortnite* [nightmare fuel](https://web.archive.org/web/20190328130449/https://kotaku.com/fortnites-new-banana-skin-is-not-right-1833066805) character, and [Apple trial hot topic](https://kotaku.com/even-apple-knows-fortnites-peely-is-a-monster-1846860238?ref=aftermath.site), Peely.

![A screenshot of a tweet by Tim Sweeney](https://lede-admin.aftermath.site/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-08-at-10.11.54%E2%80%AFAM.png?w=710)

Whatever, it’s a tweet, but I will always be fascinated by watching Epic try to figure out who it’s playing to with this fight. Its Apple approach, aimed at [weaponizing players,](https://kotaku.com/everything-about-this-sucks-1844720017?ref=aftermath.site) could be called a failure, though it gave us [some laughs](https://www.thegamer.com/epics-trial-apple-fortnite-fans/?ref=aftermath.site). Its Google approach, aimed at being adults in front of the adults on the jury, was far more successful, at the cost of, well, being a bit less fun for regular folks following along at home, though it remains fuel for the "sir" school of reply guys under Sweeney's tweets.

Sweeney and Epic can never resist the urge to inflate the whole thing a bit too much, but at the same time, it kind of *is* a big deal. The Google trial jury ruled that Google has a monopoly in app stores and billing on its phones, and through the judge’s ruling yesterday the remedy for that is that it… doesn’t get to have a monopoly anymore, at least temporarily. It’s a big win against big tech, part of [growing pushback](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/business/antitrust-case-tracker.html?ref=aftermath.site) to these practices. When I talk about these cases with my non-gaming friends, I feel a little bad for myself as I bang the table excitedly and they say, “Wait, you mean the game with the dances?..” Explaining the ways this could actually be good for game developers and players feels a little like carrying water for Epic’s ultimate crusade to make more money.

As a journalist, I at least have a professional excuse to care about this stuff a bit too much; I will never forget how, early on in the saga, I fell asleep waiting for a filing and had a nightmare that I missed it, only to wake up in a panic and realize I *had* missed it. My entire relationship to [*Fortnite*](https://kotaku.com/fortnite-battle-royale-the-kotaku-review-1833890299?ref=aftermath.site) has been a bit like this, an obligation leading to actual interest and a lot of [early mornings](https://kotaku.com/fortnites-black-hole-is-over-1839050526?ref=aftermath.site) and a grudging, growing respect for the things Epic is using its tentpole game to do, even if [not all of it is good](https://aftermath.site/bandcamp-just-trying-to-keep-the-lights-on-following-epic-sale-layoffs/).

Epic recently launched [*another* lawsuit](https://www.eurogamer.net/epic-launches-major-new-lawsuit-in-app-store-fight-this-time-against-samsung-and-google?ref=aftermath.site) against Google and Samsung, aimed at how [hard it is to download its store on their phones](https://aftermath.site/fortnite-phones-eu/). It feels ridiculous–*another one*, *really?*\--but also it *is* in fact notably difficult to get the store working on your phone! We’ll see how those cases play out.