Google has asked a U.S. appeals court to block a judge’s order requiring the Alphabet unit to redesign its app store Play, as the tech giant prepares for what could be a lengthy appeal in its antitrust battle with "Fortnite" maker Epic Games.

Small developers may be winners after a judge's ruling in the long legal battle between Epic Games and Google. The tech giant must allow consumers more choices on its app store.

A U.S. judge has ruled that Google must share its entire app catalog with rival app stores and promote them on the Play Store. Google is also prevented from paying companies to avoid challenging its app store dominance or require its app store to be preinstalled on new devices.

After a jury said Google broke monopoly laws, a judge said Google must allow competing app stores and stop forcing digital purchases through its billing system.

The tech giant tries to stave off a judge's efforts to force it to open its Play app store to wider competition.

A US judge has ruled that Google must open up Andriod for third-party app stores. The ruling, made on Monday, was one of several remedies in the landmark antitrust case brought against Google by Epic Games, the company behind the video game Fortnite.

Google has requested the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily halt a ruling that compels the company to open its Play Store to third-party competitors while it appeals an antitrust decision won by Epic Games.