{"id":53082,"date":"2026-09-03T14:33:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=53082"},"modified":"2026-09-03T14:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:33:55","slug":"google-and-epic-cancel-settlement-third-party-app-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/03\/google-and-epic-cancel-settlement-third-party-app-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"Google and Epic Cancel Settlement, Third-Party App Stores"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Whitwam<\/a> (Slashdot<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\n

The settlement between Google and Epic<\/a> that aimed to put to rest the companies’ long-running antitrust battle is being withdrawn, and that means third-party app stores are coming to the Play Store.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

While Apple suffered little penalty in its Epic case, Google was tripped up<\/a> by its anti-competitive management of the supposedly open Android ecosystem. Google used its market position to discourage device makers from promoting or pre-loading non-Google app stores and attempted to hide that conduct. The remedies set by Judge James Donato included lower fees<\/a>, mirroring Google Play apps in other stores, and most vitally, placement of alternative app stores in Google Play.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Google and Epic were set to return to court on July 16 to argue in favor of the settlement. However, the writing may have been on the wall. In a recent expert analysis<\/a> provided to the court, MIT economics professor Nancy Rose noted that the settlement was “unlikely to enable Google Play’s potential competitors to overcome their long-standing network-effect disadvantage in a timely manner.”<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Under the terms of Judge Donato’s original injunction, these stores will have access to the full catalog of Google Play apps by default. […] Google will also require approved stores to block malware, respect intellectual property, and include mechanisms to update and uninstall apps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

My guess is that all the big app developers will opt out of this. Games, though, maybe not?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n