Epic Games has achieved a significant victory in its battle against the app store policies of Apple and Google. The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that both tech giants engaged in anti-competitive behavior within their respective app stores.
Judge Jonathan Beach determined that Apple and Google abused their dominant positions in the app distribution market, restricting competition. However, he dismissed Epic’s claims that the companies acted in a manner deemed “unconscionable.”
Epic Games has been challenging the fee structures for in-app purchases enforced by Apple and Google across different countries. In the U.S., Epic already won a major case against Apple, leading to the return of Fortnite to Apple’s U.S. App Store after a five-year absence.
The recent Australian ruling may pave the way for a similar outcome. Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, has indicated that both the Epic Games Store and Fortnite are expected to soon reappear in Australia’s Apple App Store.
A Google spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the court’s dismissal of Epic’s demands related to app distribution through the Google Play store and its challenges to security measures. However, they disagreed with the court’s evaluation of Google’s billing policies and past partnerships.
Apple commented that its app store remains the safest avenue for obtaining apps and disagreed with some aspects of the court’s findings on Epic’s claims.
