Google and Epic Drop Their Injunction Fight as Rival Android App Stores Prepare to Launch

Google and Epic Games have jointly asked a federal court to drop their fight over how a landmark antitrust injunction should apply to the Play Store. The filing clears the way for rival Android app stores to begin appearing inside Google Play next week.

The two companies withdrew a joint motion asking US District Judge James Donato to soften his 2024 permanent injunction, according to a court filing reported by The Verge on July 15, 2026. Google now says it is prepared to start carrying third-party app stores inside Google Play on Wednesday, July 22, the same date its new catalog-sharing program takes effect for developers.

What Changed This Week

Google and Epic had asked Judge Donato to let Google satisfy the injunction through a “Registered App Stores” model, which would have required Android users to sideload rival marketplaces instead of installing them directly from within Google Play. Donato was reportedly skeptical of that approach, and both sides were scheduled to argue the question in court on Thursday, July 16. Instead, Google and Epic told the court on July 15 that they were withdrawing the modification request entirely.

In a statement provided to The Verge, Google spokesperson Dan Jackson said:

“We’ve agreed with Epic to withdraw our motion to modify the US Court’s injunction rather than prolonging this process which creates uncertainty for the ecosystem. This allows us to focus on executing our recently announced global business model evolution to deliver greater app store choice, lower prices, and more opportunities for developers and users. We remain committed to maintaining Android’s industry-leading security and fostering a competitive ecosystem where every app store and developer has the freedom to compete. In parallel, we continue to comply with the US Court’s injunction.”

With the motion withdrawn, Google will comply with Donato’s original order: carrying rival app stores directly inside the Google Play app, rather than routing them through a separate sideloading flow.

How the Case Got Here

The dispute traces back to Epic’s 2020 “Project Liberty” campaign, in which the Fortnite maker deliberately violated Google’s Play Store billing rules to trigger a legal challenge over Google’s revenue share. On December 11, 2023, a jury sided with Epic on all eleven counts in the case, finding that Google had maintained an illegal monopoly over Android app distribution and in-app billing through anticompetitive practices, including requiring the Play Store to be pre-installed on third-party Android hardware.

Judge Donato followed that verdict with a permanent injunction in October 2024. It ordered Google to let rival app stores operate within Google Play and to share its app catalog with them for several years, and separately barred Google from paying developers for exclusive Play Store releases for three years under the oversight of a joint compliance committee.

Google fought the injunction through appeals while also negotiating directly with Epic. The two companies announced a global settlement in March 2026 that reduced Google’s commission to 20 percent or less depending on circumstances, allowed the Epic Games Store to operate as an approved storefront worldwide, and returned Fortnite to Google Play globally by March 19, 2026. The Verge has reported the settlement also included a separate $800 million agreement between the two companies.

How the Play Catalog Access Program Works

Google’s mechanism for complying with the catalog-sharing requirement is called the Play Catalog Access Program, and it takes effect July 22, 2026, according to Google’s own developer documentation. Starting that day, Google Play will make the app and game listings of US-based developers, meaning each app’s name, icon, description, screenshots, and videos, available to any third-party Android app store operating in the US that enrolls in the program.

Developers are not required to participate. Inside Play Console’s Catalog Settings, they can choose to publish their listings to every enrolled third-party store, manage participation store by store, or opt out entirely. Google’s support documentation states plainly what happens if a developer does nothing: “If you do not choose an option, Google Play will begin to provide your app listing(s) to third-party US Android app stores starting on July 22, 2026.”

Even when a listing is shared, the actual download still runs through Google Play’s own infrastructure “on the same terms as any other download,” and Google’s standard service fee continues to apply. Developers who want to keep their listings off rival storefronts need to set that preference in Play Console before the July 22 deadline.

What Developers Should Check Before July 22

• Sign in to Play Console and open Settings, then Catalog Settings, to see the current default.
• Decide whether to publish to all enrolled third-party stores, choose stores individually, or opt out entirely.
• Confirm the app’s public listing assets, meaning icon, screenshots, and description, are accurate, since they will now represent the app on stores Google does not operate.

A Separate Track Outside the US

The Play Catalog Access Program only covers the United States, where Donato’s injunction applies directly. For the rest of the world, Google has said it plans to roll out a different mechanism called Registered App Stores, the sideload-based model Donato was skeptical of domestically, starting with a new version of Android later in 2026. That points toward two different compliance tracks for Android: direct in-store access in the US, and a sideloading flow everywhere else.

Why It Matters

The Play Catalog Access Program is a concrete example of a US court ordering a dominant mobile platform to share its app catalog with named competitors, giving rival Android stores access to a far larger set of listings than they could assemble on their own. For app publishers and the infrastructure teams that support them, the immediate task is operational: review Play Console’s catalog settings before July 22 and decide whether default inclusion in third-party stores fits your distribution, support, and update strategy.

The Verge closed its report by asking whether the shift changes the calculus for a company like Microsoft: “Does that mean it’s time for Microsoft to launch an Xbox game store on Android?” The filing does not answer that question, but it does remove the sideloading requirement that would have made such a move harder to justify inside the US.