Google Sues Epic; Fortnite on Android Still Bypasses Google Play's Commision

Google is suing Epic Games. As it turns out, despite Fortnite being removed from Google Play, the game continues to make money on Android - while avoiding paying a commission for the Mountain View giant.

Epic Games' court battles continue. They began last August, when Apple and Google removed Fortnite from their mobile stores - in response, Epic sued both companies (which resulted in a counter-suit from Apple). As a result Apple was forced to withdraw from blocking external payments in the App Store. Google, on the other hand, was trying to buy Tim Sweeney's company, and now, as it turned out - filed a lawsuit against Epic:

"Epic willfully breached the DDA by submitting a version of Fortnite for publication on Google Play with a payment method other than Google Play Billing for purchase of in-app content."

Although Fortnite's Android port is currently only available to download directly from Epic's website, the game was installed on millions of mobile Android devices before being removed from Google Play. Users using this version of the game are still able to use payments in it - of course, bypassing Google Play's commission, which is not to Google's liking, which claims that Epic "unfairly enriches itself" at its expense. Importantly, Google has no problems with the edition distributed on the developer's website; the allegations only concern the one that was distributed in its store before it disappeared.

To recap, the purpose of the lawsuit is to compensate for the money lost by Google on in-game transactions made in the edition pulled from the Play store.

"Far from generating anticompetitive harm, Android and Google Play bring enormous benefits to developers and users — and they do so at zero cost to users and minimal cost to developers in the vast majority of cases."

Interestingly, according to the lawsuit Google has not disabled Epic's developer account on its platform leaving the door open for a possible return of Fortnite to Google Play - in a version compatible with its terms and conditions. Additionally, the company allegedly is to not force the developers to distribute apps through its store.