Epic Games makes Fortnite games. As we know, on cell phones, there is a duopoly of Google Play and Apple which run app stores generating close to $200 billion a year.

Google was facing a case from Epic. The jury in San Francisco ruled after a three-year legal battle that Google has turned is play app store and billing service into a legal monopoly.

American video game-maker Epic Games has sued Google in 2020. Google is the Mountain View headquartered search engine company.

The jury has observed that the company hurt competition by tying its Google Play Store with its billing services.

Epic had secretly installed its own payment system to bypass the up-to-30 per cent revenue share that the two tech giants, viz. Google and Apple take from in-app purchases and subscriptions on their platforms. If this is removed from the eco-system, consumer prices will get better.

There is a fortune at stake for both Apple and Google. The Digital Markets Act in the European Union will bring about changes.

Both the companies are making adjustments. Apple allows the so-called reader apps (say software for cloud storage, watching video and reading books) link to outside websites to let users pay. That bypasses Apple’s revenue cut. Both Apple and Google have changed their policies to take commission on subscription apps.

Epic’s win against Google has the potential to bring major changes in the USA, its home country. That will take internet software back to a more open environment. App stores are a closed eco-system.