Supreme Court Declines to Halt Injunction in Epic Games v. Google
The US Supreme Court has declined to grant google a stay in its legal battle with Epic Games,meaning a permanent injunction against Google’s Play Store policies remains in effect. This decision sets a deadline of October 22nd, 2025, for Google to comply with the court order, which aims to open up the Android app ecosystem.
The injunction requires Google to allow developers to offer alternative payment methods within their apps without facing fees, adn to enable them to direct users to download apps outside of the Google Play Store. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced on X (formerly Twitter), “Starting October 22, developers will be legally entitled to steer US Google Play users to out-of-app payments without fees, scare screens, and friction – same as Apple App Store users in the US!”
Google has stated it will comply with its legal obligations while concurrently pursuing an appeal to the Supreme court. “Android provides more choice for users and developers than any mobile OS, and the changes ordered by the US District court will jeopardize users’ ability to safely download apps,” said Google spokesperson Dan Jackson in a statement to The Verge. “While we’re disappointed the order isn’t stayed, we will continue our appeal.”
The company intends to file a petition for certiorari with the supreme Court by October 27th, 2025 – after the compliance deadline. Judge James Donato,who originally issued the injunction,has scheduled a hearing for October 30th to discuss how Google and Epic Games will implement the changes.
Epic Games has not yet commented on weather it is indeed collaborating with Google on a Joint Technical Committee to address safety concerns related to bringing Google Play apps to rival app stores.The Supreme Court could still choose to hear the case even after Google misses the initial deadline.
