Google faces a £1bn UK trial over Play Store commission

A collective action for around 20 million UK consumers and businesses says Google's cut of up to 30% pushed prices up. It follows a £260m settlement with UK app developers.

AI-drafted from 2 sources. This story was written with AI from the outside reporting listed under Sources, and checked by automated tools before it went up. The originals have the full detail.

Google is due in front of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London over a claim that it overcharged around 20 million UK consumers and businesses through the Google Play Store. The collective action seeks more than £1 billion in damages. PocketGamer.biz reported on 5 October that the trial would open the following day and is scheduled to run for seven weeks, until 20 November 2026.

The case is brought by Liz Coll as class representative. It alleges that Google abused a dominant position by charging developers commission of up to 30% on apps, in-app digital purchases and subscriptions, and that those costs were passed on to the people buying them. Google contests the allegations.

Who is covered

The claim covers purchases made through the UK Google Play Store between 1 October 2015 and 31 July 2026: paid apps, in-game extras, subscriptions and upgrades. It runs on an opt-out basis, so anyone who fits the definition is included automatically and is not asked to sign up or pay anything. PocketGamer.biz reports that the claim is funded by Vannin Capital and insured.

For anyone who plays on Android that is a wide net. Gem packs, battle passes and ad-removal purchases bought through Play in that period are exactly the kind of spending the case is about.

“For more than a decade, Google has taken a cut of up to 30% on almost everything we buy through the Play Store,” Coll said. “We say that charge was unfair and excessive, and that consumers paid for it. We will put that case to the Tribunal on behalf of 20 million people and businesses across the UK.”

The developers already settled

This is the second UK case over the same commission. On 16 September PocketGamer.biz reported that the Tribunal had approved a £260 million settlement between Google and UK app developers, in a separate collective claim led by Professor Barry Rodger. Of that, £160 million goes to eligible developers and £100 million covers litigation funding, insurance, legal and other costs. Google made no admission of liability or wrongdoing.

Rodger said the payout “will benefit developers of every size, from individuals and start-ups to established companies, who sold apps or digital content through the Google Play Store.” Coll called it “an important step for the app developers covered by this settlement” at the time.

What the Tribunal has to decide

The developer case ended in a deal. The consumer case is going to a hearing, and the question is different. The Tribunal has to decide whether Google's conduct amounted to the abuse alleged and, if it did, whether that led to consumers paying more than they should have. The second part matters as much as the first: a commission charged to a developer only becomes a consumer's loss if it was passed on in the price.

The hearing itself changes nothing about Play Store prices or developers' terms. Any of that waits on what the Tribunal decides.

Sources

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