Google Play will have to open itself up to third-party stores...for three years

• Google Play must allow third-party app stores onto its storefront for three years
• The verdict was made as part of Epic's ongoing anti-trust case against Google
• However, it's significantly shortened from a proposed six years

It's a day ending with a 'y' and that means there's more news coming out of the ongoing Epic Games legal saga! But this time it's another significant move, as a new verdict has been passed that will curb Google's perceived monopolistic practices.

What does that mean for you and me? Well, for three years Google can't pay off rivals not to develop their own app stores, will have to allow third-party app stores to be downloaded directly through Google Play, and can't block app makers from using other billing systems or redirecting customers online.

Overall it's a major win for consumers, however, it's also a significant climbdown from a previously proposed period of six years for these changes to be in place for. As I understand it, this means Google simply have to endure the ignominy of toeing the line of this verdict for a relatively short while before going right back to business as usual.

A saga of epic proportions

It's pretty clear that this is being designed as a punishment, but I do find it a bit odd that we've seen this verdict already downsized to half the original length. I feel like if you wanted to help even out the playing field the better thing to do would be to make changes to the overall system. But hey, I'm not a judge so what do I know?

In the meantime, there are still plenty of great games out there no matter what storefront you may be using. So why not refresh your 'to-play' list by checking out our own ranking of the best mobile games of 2024 (so far)?

And if that's not enough there's also our other list of the top 25 free-to-play games on iOS and Android for even more variety, with top picks from every genre!