South Korea's antitrust regulator has formally accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the Android app market through a programme that pressured game developers to prioritise Google Play over rival stores. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) sent an examiner's report to Google this week, potentially leading to corrective orders and a financial penalty. The alleged conduct affected about 14.16 trillion won ($9.1 billion) in revenue, with fines possibly reaching 6% of that amount under South Korean law, according to medianama.com.
The KFTC said Google operated the Games/Google Velocity Program (GVP), internally known as Project Hug, from July 2019 to March 2026. This programme provided financial support to game developers tied to Google services like Cloud, Ads, and YouTube. In exchange, developers were required to launch their games on Google Play under terms at least as favourable as those offered to rival app stores, including launch timing and quality. The regulator argued that this arrangement reduced developers' incentives to distribute games on competing marketplaces such as OneStore, restricting competitors' growth and effectively locking developers into Google's ecosystem, per medianama.com.
This case highlights ongoing global scrutiny of major tech companies' market practices, especially in app distribution. South Korea's KFTC has previously taken action against Google over its Play Store policies. The fine could be significant compared to other antitrust penalties, reflecting the scale of revenue involved. The allegations underscore challenges faced by rival app stores in gaining traction against Google's dominant position in the Android ecosystem. The outcome may influence regulatory approaches in other jurisdictions examining platform competition, as reported by medianama.com.
The KFTC's next steps include reviewing Google's response to the examiner's report before deciding on corrective measures or penalties. The regulator's investigation covers a period of nearly seven years, from mid-2019 to early 2026, and the potential fine could reach up to 6% of the $9.1 billion revenue affected, according to medianama.com.