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Things haven’t been the smoothest between Epic Games and Google – despite the launch of the Epic Games Store not too long ago for mobile platforms, it seems like the veteran game publisher wants another go at Google – along with Samsung this time – on the basis of unlawful prevention of users from accessing third-party app stores on their devices.
Part of this new lawsuit revolves around Samsung’s Auto-blocker software on its phones, which Epic alleges prevents smartphone owners from exploring other platforms for app distribution and purchases. Part of a statement from Epic reads:
We are filing a court case against Google and Samsung over coordinated efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices with Samsung’s default-on Auto Blocker feature… Auto Blocker cements the Google Play Store as the only viable way to get apps on Samsung devices, blocking every other store from competing on a level playing field.
Our litigation alleges that Samsung’s recent implementation of the Auto Blocker feature was intentionally crafted in coordination with Google to preemptively undermine the U.S. District Court’s remedy following the jury’s verdict in Epic’s case against Google…
Epic claims that Samsung’s decision to enable Auto-blocker on by default (previously it was an optional setting) harms competition among app distributors, adding that Google has long been inducing Samsung into its “anticompetitive dealings,” and “paying OEMs billions to prevent competition.” You can read Epic’s full statement here.
Back in August, the Epic Games Store was made available for both Android and iOS devices, giving users access to mobile titles such as Fortnite, Rocket League, as well as an all-new port of Fall Guys for mobile devices.
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