Supreme Court Denies Stay of Google Play Overhaul

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to block key parts of a district judge’s injunction that would force Google to overhaul its Play Store after Epic Games won a 2023 jury verdict. The injunction, issued by Judge James Donato and upheld by the Ninth Circuit, requires Google to allow rival app stores, share its app catalogue and permit links to external, out-of-app payment options. The order is phased: the rule letting developers steer users to out-of-app payments and external links will take effect Oct. 22, 2025, while provisions to distribute third-party stores and share the app catalogue begin in July 2026. Google argued the changes would create security and safety risks, reputational harm and substantial consequences for more than 100 million U.S. Android users and roughly 500,000 developers, and said it will continue to appeal. The Supreme Court issued a one-sentence denial without explanation, and Epic Games and CEO Tim Sweeney celebrated, saying developers will be legally entitled to steer Google Play users to out-of-app payments.