Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Epic Games and Google have jointly withdrawn their previously proposed settlement, forcing Google to abide by the original October 2024 US court injunction.
- Starting July 22, 2026, Google has confirmed that it will carry rival third-party app stores within the US Play Store and open its app catalog to them via a new enrollment program.
- US app and game listings will automatically become available to these third-party stores unless developers explicitly choose to opt out.
- Parallely, Google is also moving ahead with its Registered App Stores program for the rest of the global markets.
The Epic Games vs Google battle (almost) concluded late last year when the companies jointly proposed a settlement that avoided sweeping changes to the Play Store. The settlement came in the backdrop of an $800 million surprise partnership between the companies. Now, the companies have jointly withdrawn the settlement (!), meaning that Google will now be forced to carry rival app stores within the Play Store after all.
The Verge reports that not only have the companies withdrawn their settlement, but Google is even ready to begin carrying third-party app stores in the US from next week, July 22, 2026.
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