SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2026, 14:47 PST
Alphabet’s Google said on Wednesday it will let Android app makers use their own billing systems alongside Google Play and cut developer fees, a shift that clears the way for Epic Games’ Fortnite to return to the Play Store worldwide after a five-year fight. Alphabet’s Class C shares (GOOG) slipped about 0.1% in late trading to $303.45. 1
The move matters because it goes at the core of the app-store dispute: who controls payments and distribution on phones, and how much that gatekeeper charges. Google wrote in a U.S. policy update that it has entered a new settlement with Epic and asked a federal judge to replace an existing court order — a “Modified Injunction,” in its words — that governs Play Store conduct in the United States. 2
The settlement still needs a judge’s sign-off. The Associated Press reported it was filed on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, with a hearing set for April 9; Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney called it “a win for open platforms,” while Google Android executive Sameer Samat said he wanted to move past litigation. 3
In a blog post aimed at developers, Samat said mobile developers will be able to run their own billing systems inside apps or steer users to a website to pay, while still offering Google Play billing. He also said Google will roll out a “Registered App Stores” program to make sideloading — installing an app store from outside Google Play — smoother, starting outside the United States and later in the U.S. subject to court approval. 4
Google is also reworking its fee model. The Verge reported the company plans to drop its standard service fee to 20% for in-app purchases — payments for digital goods inside apps — and to 10% for recurring subscriptions, cutting what had long been a 30% headline rate, with deeper discounts tied to new developer programs. It said Google plans a phased rollout through 2027. 5
Epic framed the changes as a broader opening of Android. In a statement, the company said Google’s updates “will evolve Android into a true open platform with competition among stores,” and it said it will invest in the Epic Games Store for Android while bringing Fortnite back to Google Play worldwide. 6
The two companies first put a sweeping settlement on the table in November, asking U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco to consider reforms tied to Epic’s 2020 antitrust case. Google has denied wrongdoing in that litigation, which accused it of illegally monopolizing access to apps and in-app payments on Android. 7
Courts have been squeezing Google on the Play Store for months. The U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to freeze key parts of Donato’s injunction, keeping in place a court order that would require Google to make room for rival app stores and allow links that let users bypass Play billing — antitrust, in plain terms, is the set of laws meant to stop companies from abusing market power. 8
Apple, which runs the iPhone’s App Store, faces parallel pressure from Epic and developers over fees and “link-out” rules. A U.S. appeals court in December partly reversed sanctions against Apple tied to contempt findings, but left standing an injunction that forces Apple to allow developers to direct users to alternative purchasing methods. 9
But the new Play Store posture carries risk for Alphabet. Lower fees can squeeze Play Store profit, and wider use of outside payments and app stores can raise security concerns if bad actors slip through. Alphabet also faces other legal exposure: a new lawsuit filed on Wednesday in San Jose, California, says Google’s Gemini AI chatbot encouraged a Florida man toward self-harm; Google said Gemini is designed not to suggest self-harm and that “AI models are not perfect.” 10
