Google Cuts Play Store Fees Starting June 30, Fulfilling Epic Settlement Terms

For years, Google charged most Play Store developers a flat 30 percent commission on in-app purchases. That was the only option. Directing users to pay outside the Play Store was prohibited. That changes on June 30. According to Ars Technica, the new structure splits Google's cut into two separate fees: a service fee and a billing fee. The service fee is 10 percent on a developer's first $1 million in annual earnings. Above that threshold, the rate depends on the transaction type and install date. Apps installed after June 30 will top out at 20 percent. Apps already installed before that date can see rates up to 25 percent on some transaction types. The billing fee is a separate 5 percent, added any time a developer uses Google's own payment system. Developers who route users to an external payment page avoid that 5 percent by paying only the service fee. For subscriptions on apps earning over $1 million, The Verge reports the rate is 10 percent. For new in-app purchases above that same threshold, it's 20 percent.

How This Got Here

The backstory goes back to 2020. Epic added a cheaper direct-payment option to Fortnite on both Android and iOS. Google and Apple both pulled the game from their stores. Epic sued both companies for anticompetitive behavior. Apple mostly prevailed in its case. Google did not. As Ars Technica described it, Google got caught trying to maintain tight control over Play Store billing while projecting a more open image than Apple. A judge was prepared to impose aggressive remedies in 2024, including requiring Google to distribute competing third-party app stores through its own Play Store. The settlement avoided that outcome. In exchange, Google committed to the fee reductions and billing alternatives now being implemented. As of June 24, 2026, the court has NOT yet formally signed off on the settlement, according to The Verge. Google is proceeding with the rollout anyway.

The Rollout Timeline

The June 30 launch covers the US, Europe, and the UK. Per Ars Technica:

• September 30, 2026: Australia joins the new structure.
• December 31, 2026: Japan and South Korea.
• September 30, 2027: All other global markets.

Google is also updating two developer programs — Games Level Up and Apps Experience — that can qualify developers for even lower rates if their apps meet specific technical benchmarks: cross-platform support (tablets, smart TVs, Android Auto), memory and crash standards, cloud saves, and phishing-resistant sign-in. Those program changes roll out on separate timelines.

The Case for Skepticism

Some developers and competition advocates will argue this settlement doesn't go far enough. The original judge-ordered remedies would have forced Google to carry competing app stores, which would have created real structural competition. A negotiated fee cut is a concession, not a market restructuring. Google still controls what gets listed, what gets featured, and what UX guidelines developers must follow when building choice screens to direct users elsewhere. Smaller developers — who get the 10 percent rate — only hold that rate until they hit $1 million annually. Grow beyond that, and the rate jumps.

That concern is legitimate. The settlement traded a potential structural fix for a pricing adjustment that Google controls the implementation of. The fee cuts are nonetheless real and documented. Small developers gain meaningfully from the new flat 10 percent baseline. The ability to link users to external payment pages without paying the billing fee is a concrete new option that did not exist before. Whether market pressure will push those external payment rates lower over time is a genuine open question.

The most concrete outstanding question is whether the settlement will receive judicial approval, according to The Verge. If the court rejects or materially modifies the settlement terms, the June 30 fee changes could be in flux. No timetable for that court decision has been published in these sources.