Google found itself in a tight spot. On one hand, it was worried that if it didn’t make any change to the Play Store’s in-app payment processing platform, it would be done in by regulatory overreach. On the other hand, making changes to the platform could seriously impact the company’s revenue. During an in-house presentation, Google said, “We can defend the status quo for a few months. Making proposed changes sooner may help support reasonable legislation, position Google as a leader, and prevent more draconian legislation.”
Google decided that Project Everest would cost Google too much money
Project Everest would have stopped Google from taking its 15% to 30% cut of in-app revenue and instead, developers would be charged for various services related to listing their apps in the Play Store with additional charges tacked on for user downloads and updates. But making this switch would cost Google in the form of a $1 billion to $2 billion decline in annual revenue from apps and $6 billion to $9 billion in revenue from games.