Google implements Play Store fee changes and new payment options after Epic Games settlement

Google spent the last few years locked in a legal grudge match with Epic Games, which claimed that Google’s stewardship of the Play Store was anticompetitive. Now, the companies are thick as thieves, and Google is beginning to implement app store changes as agreed in its settlement with Epic. The lower developer fees and new payment options that Google promised are rolling out in select markets this month before expanding.

Until a few years ago, Google followed an Apple-like approach to app store billing, charging most developers a 30 percent commission for transactions in the Play Store. That was the only option, too. Directing users to make purchases outside the store was not allowed, and that’s what got Epic in hot water in 2020. Epic added cheaper external billing to the Android and iOS versions of Fortnite, getting the game pulled from both stores and prompting a lawsuit.

Apple managed to (mostly) win its case, but Google tripped up in how it tried to control the Play Store while keeping a more open appearance. The judge in the case was set to impose some dramatic remedies in 2024, including forcing Google to distribute third-party app stores in Google Play. The settlement, which Google has noted will end its dispute with Epic globally, doesn’t go that far. However, developers are about to get the promised fee reductions.

Starting on June 30, developers in Europe, the UK, and the US will have access to the new fee structure. This system will split the commission into two components: billing and service fees. The biggest win for small developers is the new flat 10 percent service fee for the first $1 million in earnings every year. Above that, the rate for various transaction types may reach 25 percent on existing installs. Apps installed after June 30 will top out at 20 percent.

Developers will finally be allowed to send users outside the Play Store to complete a transaction, too. Google says they can design a choice screen “in accordance with our UX guidelines” to direct users to these external options. Devs pay the standard service fee on these purchases, but they’ll avoid the billing fee.

All transactions that run through Google’s Play Store platform add a 5 percent billing fee—even the base rate for publishers earning less than $1 million. Google notes that the billing fee is set at 5 percent in the initial markets, but it could be different in other regions.

More changes coming

The June 30 start date was stipulated in the settlement for the initial markets, but Google will eventually make these changes global. Australia will join the new fee structure on September 30, and on December 31, Japan and Korea will be on board. All other regions will move to the new system on September 30, 2027.

Google is also working on changes to programs, known as the Games Level Up and Apps Experience, that can offer developers a fee break. The game program already exists, offering increased Play Store visibility in exchange for implementing more Google Play features. It will soon include a lower transaction fee, too.

The Apps Experience program is new and will offer a similar deal for non-game content in Google Play. These programs will be available to developers in Europe, the UK, Australia, and the US on September 30 of this year. They will open to developers in other countries as they are added to the new billing system.

All in all, these updates will help developers eke out a little more revenue on Google’s platform, but they don’t change the game. Google is still firmly in control of the Android software ecosystem, and it’s still getting a cut of every sale. That may change when Google gets around to the next phase of the settlement, which isn’t mentioned in today’s announcement.

Under the terms of the settlement, Google must also certify third-party app stores and allow them to operate more like the Play Store on devices. That may take longer to implement, particularly as Google also begins enforcing developer verification over the coming months.