Google is scrambling for an emergency hold after its recent court victory against Epic Games, which has ordered the tech giant to make significant changes to the Play Store and Android within 14 days.
A recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has backed a 2024 verdict in Epic’s case against Google, requiring the company to implement antitrust remedies. These include allowing developers to use their own payment systems, informing users about alternative ways to pay, and giving them full control over how they price their apps.
Google is now seeking an emergency stay to push back its deadline by a week, arguing that swift changes could destabilize the Android ecosystem. The company claims that rushing through these reforms could introduce serious risks, affecting millions of users and hundreds of thousands of developers.
Despite Google’s efforts, the Epic Games Store is still on track to arrive in 2026, with CEO Tim Sweeney stating that it will be integrated into the Play Store at some point. However, it remains unclear if the Ninth Circuit will approve Google’s request for a stay, which would determine whether third-party app stores become available on Google Play sooner.
Source: https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/google-play-store/google-is-scrambling-for-an-emergency-hold-after-epics-court-victory