Google has overhauled its fee system for the Android app marketplace Play Store and formalised a policy allowing external payments. A legal dispute with Epic Games that has continued since 2020 ended in a settlement on the back of the changes.

Samir Samat (사미르 사마트), president of Google's Android ecosystem, said on Tuesday that in-app payment fees will be cut from 30 percent to a minimum of 15 percent. Fees applied to subscription services will be reduced to 10 percent, he said.

Developers who use Google's payment system will be charged an additional 5 percent. The extra fee will be waived if they choose their own payment system or payments via an external site. Google described the overhaul as providing flexibility in a way that maximises users' choice and safety.

The new fee system will be applied first to the United States, Britain and the European Economic Area by June 30, and is due to be introduced in South Korea by the end of the year. Google will also add a feature that pre-registers external app markets that meet quality and safety standards so users can easily download apps through routes other than the Play Store. The introduction of external app markets in the United States must be approved by a court first.

Based on the overhaul, Google reached a settlement with Epic Games. Epic Games sued Google in 2020, saying in-app payment fees were excessive, and a court ruled in Epic Games' favour, ordering the Play Store to be opened. Google appealed but lost on appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a request last October to suspend the court order, effectively exhausting legal options.

Tim Sweeney (팀 스위니), chief executive of Epic Games, said on his social media platform X that Google is fully opening Android to support competing app markets and payment methods and offer better conditions to all developers, and that it had agreed to end disputes with Google worldwide. Sweeney added that 'Fortnite', which had been removed from the Play Store, will soon return to Play Stores around the world. In the United States, it already returned in December.

Epic Games is also in a similar dispute with Apple, which runs the iPhone App Store.