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Documents recently unsealed in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google allege the tech giant considered purchasing “some or all” of Epic Games, out of concern over Fortnite developer’s intention to bypass the Google Play app store.
The document does not contain any of the internal messages where such a plan is being considered, but a previously drafted paragraph is now included in the court documents, as The Verge reported yesterday:
“For example, Google went so far as to share its monopoly profits with business partners to obtain their agreement to exclude the competition, developed a series of internal projects to deal with the” contagion “it perceived from efforts of Epic and others to provide competitive alternatives to consumers and developers, and has even considered purchasing some or all of Epic to quell this threat. “
Responding to Verge’s Twitter post, the CEO of Epic Games said he was only now discovering “Google’s consideration”:
This was unknown to us at the time, and due to the court’s protective order, we just learned that Google is considering buying Epic to end our efforts to compete with Google Play. co / HSS1edUrQm
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 6, 2021
Elsewhere in court documents, Epic also alleges that Google offered them a “special deal” to launch Fortnite on the Google Play Store, which they rejected, and called the experience of installing apps on Android phones. outside the store “frankly abysmal.” . ”
Much of the document’s claims and proposed evidence remain redacted, but Epic further alleges that after signing a distribution agreement for Fortnite with Samsung’s Android app store, Google “took steps to ensure that OEMs would not enter into partnerships with distributors like Epic “.
Much attention has been paid to Epic’s lawsuit against Apple over the restrictions on the App Store, but their lawsuit against Google was launched on the same day and is related to the same issue. Epic claims that Apple and Google’s control over their app store is a monopoly and wants to be able to offer users alternative avenues to purchase their games like Fortnite – without having to give Apple or Google a 30% discount. . The results of both cases have huge ramifications for the walled gardens of Apple and Google, and for every software developer who publishes on those platforms. It could also have consequences on other platforms, including consoles, and other digital stores such as Steam.
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