Australia Joins the D2C Revolution
Australia’s Federal Court has ruled that Apple and Google misused their app store dominance, paving the way for greater D2C access in another major gaming market
Australia’s Federal Court has handed Epic Games a partial victory, ruling that Apple and Google breached competition law by misusing app‑store market power through restrictive in‑app payment systems and exclusion of third‑party stores.
Similar to recent rulings in the US and other countries, this is the first step towards opening up D2C, third party app stores and third party payments to another major gaming market.
Let’s be clear: the path to D2C isn’t entirely paved yet. We’re still waiting for the full judgments - Justice Beach’s decisions span over 2,000 pages, and the detailed written rulings have yet to be released. We also don’t know what the remedies will be, and, of course, Apple and Google will almost certainly appeal the decision.
But… That Doesn’t Undercut the Opportunity
This ruling underscores a global pattern of mobile app-store ecosystems opening up - from the EU to the U.S., Japan, and now Australia. For developers, the takeaway is clear: be ready to act as soon as a new door opens.
Why Tebex Makes Perfect Sense Right Now
Zero cost to deploy: Get your D2C stack up and running without building payments, compliance, or storefronts from scratch.
Low risk, high optionality: If an appeal or regulatory reversal stalls your path to D2C, you've invested nothing - but if things stick, you're already positioned.
Future-proof agility: With Tebex, you can activate real-time D2C as regions liberalize - without untangling complex infrastructure mid-battle.
Australia’s decision is a tentative but meaningful step toward greater D2C freedom- and a signal to studios to get ready now. And with Tebex, you can plug and play into that future without the risk or expense of building your own system.
Get started with Tebex today — or speak with our team about how to migrate your current payment setup.
