Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, one of the loudest and most relentless critics of Big Tech’s app store practices, has effectively signed away his right to publicly criticise Google—and won’t be able to do so until at least 2032. The man who spent the better part of a decade dragging Google through courtrooms, calling it names on social media, and framing his legal battles as a fight for the “open internet” has now agreed to not just stay quiet, but actively say nice things about the company.
As part of the binding term sheet that settles Epic’s years-long antitrust battle with Google, Sweeney agreed to a non-disparagement clause that bars him from attacking Google’s app store policies, The Verge reported. But it goes further than just staying quiet. The contract requires Sweeney to actively praise the company. “Epic believes that the Google and Android platform, with the changes in this term sheet, are procompetitive and a model for app store / platform operations, and will make good faith efforts to advocate for the same,” the clause reads.
The agreement doesn’t expire until five years after Google finishes rolling out its fee structure changes. Since Google plans to complete those changes worldwide by September 30, 2027, Sweeney may not be free to speak his mind about Google’s app store until September 2032 at the earliest.
Sweeney went from calling Google ‘gangster-style’ to thanking the company in all caps
This is quite the U-turn for someone who once called Google and Apple “gangster-style businesses,” branded Android a “fake open platform,” and described Google’s developer-retention programme Project Hug as “astonishingly corrupt. ” Now, his public stance reads very differently. “Google is opening up Android all the way with robust support for competing stores, competing payments, and a better deal for all developers. So, we’ve settled all of our disputes worldwide. THANKS GOOGLE!” Sweeney wrote on X.
Epic did clarify, though, that the muzzle isn’t total. The company posted on X that criticising Google is still fair game on topics unrelated to app store distribution and fees—the non-disparagement clause only covers settlement-related matters.
Google slashes Play Store fees, opens door to rival app stores
As for what Google is giving up in the deal—the changes are fairly significant. Google is cutting its standard 30% Play Store commission down to 20%, with recurring subscriptions dropping to 10%. Developers can now use their own billing systems or direct users to external websites for purchases. Google is also introducing a Registered App Stores programme that makes it easier to sideload competing app stores on Android.
With the settlement now in place, Epic is bringing Fortnite back to the Google Play Store worldwide and plans to invest in expanding the Epic Games Store on Android.
