Neon

Epic Games v. Google Settlement Hearing: What Game Developers Should Know Yesterday's (22 January 2026) hearing made headlines for the reveal of a secret $800M partnership between Epic and Google (covering Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and Android over six years.) But no official decisions or changes came out of the court. This was one checkpoint in the ongoing process of evaluating the proposed settlement. So what happened? Here's a quick recap and links to additional resources👇 The focus of the hearing was on third-party app stores and their potential access to the Android global app catalog. Epic and Google argued that applying their proposed settlement globally (not just the U.S.) is a major unlock for competition. Impartial witness and court-appointed MIT economist Dr. Nancy L. Rose said the settlement would "fall far short" of fixing anticompetitive issues. Judge James Donato communicated his skepticism throughout, going as far as saying, "You've got a hike to tell me that something has changed so much in the world that I should change that injunction, and I'm not hearing it." The fee structures that were included in the proposed settlement (9% for cosmetics, 20% for consumables, and +5% for Google Play Billing) weren't mentioned. The new Android U.S. policy that was announced on December 9, 2025 outlining 25% alternative billing fees and 20% external linking fees weren't mentioned. What's next: Both sides have until early March to file additional briefs. No decision on the settlement yet. Bottom line: If you're waiting for clarity on Google's fee structure for alternative in-app billing and linking to web-based payments, you'll be waiting until at least March. Report from PocketGamer.biz here: https://lnkd.in/gWM2vzGB Courtroom reporting by Sean Hollister at The Verge: https://lnkd.in/eWMdr_7v Neon's breakdown of the Epic & Google settlement: https://lnkd.in/g6mGVaaM Neon's summary of Google Play’s New U.S. Billing & Linking Policies from December 9, 2025: https://lnkd.in/gQiVM9v4

If you want to follow along, see below as the livestream isn't up and running right now.

The evidentiary hearing for the proposed Epic v. Google settlement is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, January 22 at 11:00am PT. During the hearing, Judge James Donato will hear testimony and review evidence related to the proposed settlement. This is a key procedural step in the broader Epic v. Google case and will help determine what happens next. The hearing is open to the public and available via Zoom. You can find access details here: https://lnkd.in/gP6XkwBn We’ll be watching live and will publish a recap and practical breakdown shortly after on neonpay.com/blog. If you want a quick refresher on where the case stands and what the proposed settlement actually changes, here’s our summary: https://lnkd.in/g6mGVaaM

Day 1 of Pocket Gamer Connects is in the books, and it set a strong tone for 2026. Thanks to those who joined the session with Liu Xu 🔜 PGC London (Head of Customer Success at Neon) & Ioannis Lefkaditis 🔜 PGC London (Head of Games at Yodo1 Games), where they shared concrete examples of growing DTC impact and improving net revenue. Also we appreciate everyone who attended the "The Future Of Monetization" panel featuring Chloe Cave (Head of Growth at Neon), where there was great discussion around leveraging DTC as a part of modern mobile game monetization. And a special shout out to the group that joined us at City Social for dinner. Great conversations, great food. Enjoy Day 2! David Sigal 🔜 PGC London Gustav Pastucha 🔜 PGC London Bulut K. Russell Brown James Nicholas Jordan Kirk Govind Cacciatore Julia Palatovska 🔜 PGC London Niko Joensuu Sergio De Vita Emma Bullen ➡ PGC London Ioannis Lefkaditis 🔜 PGC London Michal Korek Jussi Ultima 🔜 PGC London Chris Faught Sena Erverdi Ian Low Mukul Chawla

Our Head of Customer Success Liu Xu 🔜 PGC London sat down with PocketGamer.biz ahead of her session at #PGCLondon (Monday, January 19 at 2:25pm local time in Track Room 2). She covers a lot of ground: the one KPI she thinks matters most for DTC, why casual games are leaving money on the table, and how one publisher more than doubled their webshop revenue share in under a year. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gy4qMS6T

The Neon team will be at PGC London and we're looking forward to kicking off the year at one of our favorite events. Stop by the Neon Lounge and say hello! Chris Faught Chloe Cave Sena Erverdi Liu Xu 🔜 PGC London Mukul Chawla Ian Low

Brazil just forced Apple to open up iOS payments and app distribution. The economics? Mixed. Apple will allow alternative payment processing and third-party app stores in Brazil by April 2026. Most new options cost 15-25% in Apple fees + third-party payment processing. That's barely better than the standard 30% rate. But there's one opportunity that costs 0% in Apple fees. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gM7rMb-X

Japan's new competition law just opened up iOS and Android payments. The economics are complicated. Apple and Google now allow alternative payment processing in Japan, and Apple dropped their standard fee from 30% to 26%. But for direct-to-consumer (DTC) routes, you're looking at 15-26% platform commissions + third-party payment fees. The math doesn't look great. But there's one change that could really matter. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ghAjvAsX

Google just emailed all Google Play Developers with new U.S. policies and requirements for in-game alternative billing and webshop links. Here's what you need to know. For context: U.S. game developers can currently offer in-game alternative payments and/or links directly to webshops on both iOS and Android with no platform fees. - On iOS, that's thanks to the Epic v. Apple ruling. - On Android, via the Epic v. Google injunction that took effect October 29. Google Play announced two new required programs, an enrollment deadline of January 28, 2026, and a potential fee structure (20-25%) that may eventually apply. But nothing seems set in stone. We broke down what changed, what the possible fees look like, and how to think about the enrollment decision. Read about it here: https://lnkd.in/gQiVM9v4

We did some digging and found out that the Epic Games & Google settlement hearing was pushed back to 2026. Read the full breakdown on our blog to learn where things stand today and how they might change for mobile game developers if the settlement is approved or denied. https://lnkd.in/g6mGVaaM