Google seeks to set up a $90 million fund so U.S. Play Store developers can keep working

Google has proposed to settle with a group of Play Store developers in the United States via the law firm Hagens Berman. It wants to establish a $90 million fund to help those who have earned two million dollars or less in annual revenue each year between 2016 and 2021 through the store receive an injection of cash flow that can assist with maintaining the millions of jobs that have been created as a result of Google Play existing.

Today, we’re pleased to share a proposed agreement that will help ensure that both developers and consumers can continue to benefit from Google Play. Google and a group of U.S. developers have reached a proposed settlement that allows both parties to move forward and avoids years of uncertain and distracting litigation.

Google states that a vast majority of developers who earned revenue through Google Play will be eligible for the funds (If they’re approved), with some earning hundreds or thousands, even upwards of $200,000 or more! For context, Hagens Berman was successful in championing a $560 million collective settlement against Apple and book publishers for fixed e-book pricing and another $100 million settlement against Apple again for iOS developers. It’s also currently got litigations against Facebook, Amazon, and more regarding current antitrust and consumer rights violations, so it’s likely that this case would also succeed.

In addition to the fund, Google is committing to implement new practices and benefits that help devs innovate on their apps and games. For example, it will maintain its 15% commission rate for the first $1 million in annual revenue earned from the Play Store (U.S.). It will also make sure that its Developer Distribution Agreement is clear so that it won’t have to face litigation regarding how developers can communicate with their audience out-of-app using contact information received in-app, especially when it comes to how rival app stores (Epic Games).

Lastly, Google will create an ‘Indie Apps Corner’ to help showcase high-quality apps that shine in the U.S. Play Store to help draw attention to experiences worth installing from smaller developers. As an indie game developer, I’m personally a big fan of this and the Indie Games Accelerator that the company has set up and runs each year.

Obviously, if you had a developer account set up with Google Play, but never put out an app or game, or at least never profited from sales of that content, you won’t be eligible for any funds in $90 million pool of money, so there are some restrictions on all of this, but it’s great to see Google settling so that those who have turned to app development, especially full time and during the global pandemic can continue to work and produce experiences for a living.