Britain launched an investigation into Apple and Google’s smartphone operating systems, app stores and browsers on Thursday, its second use of recently bulked-up regulatory powers to scrutinise big tech companies.
TakeAway Points:
- CMA to assess the market positions of Google and Apple in mobile ecosystems.
- Investigation to look at developer terms, dominance, and competition.
- Google and Apple defend their contributions and market positions.
- “Fortnite” producer Epic Games said on Thursday it will offer 19 third-party titles to its own marketplace app on Google’s Android internationally and 16 games on Apple’s iOS in the European Union.
Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems under probe
The Competition and Markets Authority said it would assess whether Apple and Google had “strategic market status” in mobile ecosystems and the impact they had on users and on businesses developing content and services.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said more competitive mobile ecosystems could foster new innovation and new opportunities across a range of services that millions of people use, be they app stores, browsers or operating systems.
“Better competition could also boost growth here in the UK,” she said.
Nearly all smartphones sold in Britain run either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems, and their respective apps stores and browsers have either exclusive or leading positions on their platforms.
They could therefore exert considerable influence over content, services and technological developments, the CMA said.
Apple said it believed in “thriving and dynamic markets where innovation can flourish,” and its ecosystem supported hundreds of thousands of jobs in Britain.
“We face competition in every segment and jurisdiction where we operate, and our focus is always the trust of our users,” the company said in a statement.
Google’s senior director for competition, Oliver Bethell, said Android’s openness has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratise access to smartphones and apps.
“It’s the only example of a successful and viable open source mobile operating system,” he said.
The British regulator said it would look at the extent of competition between the two companies, whether they were using their dominance to favour their own apps and services and whether they were forcing developers to sign up to unfair terms.
It is the second investigation by the CMA using its new powers to scrutinise big tech. Its first, announced earlier this month, was targeted at Google’s search services.
The deadline for the investigation is October 22, 2025.
Epic Games kicks off plan to add third-party games to own mobile store
“Fortnite” maker Epic Games said on Thursday it will add 19 third-party games to its own marketplace app on Google’s Android globally and 16 games on Apple’s iOS in the European Union.
The videogame company had launched its mobile game store in 2024, allowing it to avoid fees imposed by conventional app marketplaces such as Google’s Play and Apple’s App Store while making in-app purchases.
Epic Games had also argued that users did not have much choice beyond the two popular app stores for downloading gaming applications, suppressing competition.
It will launch a program to offer free games on its mobile store, starting with titles such as “Bloons TD 6” and “Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee”.
The company said it would temporarily cover core technology fees, the 0.50 euros ($0.5210) charged by Apple on every app after it crosses 1 million installs, for developers that participate in Epic’s free-games program in Europe.
“We are opening up the Epic Games Store to mobile games from third parties, starting with a small catalog and expanding over time to a very big catalog,” CEO Tim Sweeney told reporters.
“Our aim here isn’t just to launch a bunch of different stores and different places, but to build a single cross-platform store.”
North Carolina-based Epic Games reached 29 million users for its mobile store by end-2024, falling short of its target of 100 million users.
The company also offers a computer graphics software called “Unreal Engine,” which is widely used by app developers to design and develop games.
Apple had approved Epic Games’ marketplace app in Europe last year. Epic had faced off with Google and Apple over their rules of charging up to 30% commissions on app store payments.
After getting banned for nearly four years, Epic’s “Fortnite” returned on iPhones in the European Union and Android devices globally.
