Paddle Billing
ProfitWell MetricsYou may have already seen the latest development in the Epic Games vs Google legal case. In case you missed it, the jury ruled that Google has an illegal App Store monopoly.
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Three years after Epic Games launched their legal case against Google, the verdict delivered has ruled that Google turned its Google Play app store and Google Play Billing service into an illegal monopoly.
What the trial result means
I actually testified in San Francisco in this Epic Games’ trial in November. I was helping provide perspective on the app developer ecosystem, as someone who co-founded one of the leading payments infrastructure providers. I care deeply about this issue.
More choice around in-app payments is better for everyone as it helps to lower costs for developers and improve the experience for consumers. Although this is just one case, the shift towards more competition in digital markets is a global trend and it is likely only a matter of time before other sizable parts of the software ecosystem are opened up to the same kind of competition that exists across the rest of the industry.
We won’t hear about the actual outcome until January. Epic is not asking for monetary awards, but rather for app developer freedom over app stores and billing systems. Google has said they will appeal, and we will still have to wait a while longer to see how this plays out.
How we can help today
One of the things we've been quietly working on over the last couple of months, is Paddle for Games. We've been partnering with a number of top game developers to power their payments and commerce.
If you're a game developer, we'd love to speak to you as we build Paddle for Games around challenges you have with monetisation and the solutions you're in need of. If you'd be willing to have a quick 30 minute call with us, just fill in your details here.
As the leading merchant of record for software, we are well placed to help. We are seeing a big rise in interest, primarily driven by:
- A desire to own the customer relationship directly, and a shift of monetisation from app stores to web
- A concern with existing direct-to-consumer payments infrastructure, with large challenges facing incumbents like Xsolla
We will be at PG Connects in London next month, and at other games industry events next year. In the meantime, if you want to be updated on the latest in the world of In-App Purchases, you can join the waiting list here. Or you are welcome to email your questions to iap@paddle.com.
