In a San Francisco court, the creator of the popular video game Fortnite, Epic Games, has embarked on a legal battle against tech giant Google, alleging Google’s monopolistic practices in the app distribution market.
Epic Games accuses Google of imposing a 30% commission on in-app purchases through the Google Play store, a practice they claim is anti-competitive. Epic Games argues that Google has strayed from its “don’t be evil” motto, coined when the company was founded in 1998.
Google asserts that there are numerous alternative methods for Android users to download apps, claiming that it is not monopolistic in nature. The company contends that it competes with Apple and rejects the notion that Google Play is a monopoly.
The legal showdown adds another layer to the antitrust challenges Google faces. The company is already defending itself in a Washington court against accusations from the US Department of Justice, claiming that Google presides over an illegal monopoly in the search engine market.
Epic Games’ arguments against Google are reminiscent of its previous case against Apple in 2021, when the company raised similar concerns about monopolistic practices.
In 2020, Epic Games withdrew Fortnite from both the Google Play store and Apple’s App Store, characterizing the commission fees as “taxes” on developers.
While the judge in the Apple case did not declare Apple a monopoly, they did rule in favour of allowing apps to guide users away from Apple’s in-app charges.
Epic Games insists that Google has effectively “eliminated competition in the distribution of Android apps” by employing contractual and technical barriers. Google, however, argues that there is more competition in the Android app distribution ecosystem than in any other operating system.
Over the weekend, Epic Games reached a milestone with its popular battle royale game, Fortnite. The game’s latest season, known as Fortnite OG, saw a record-breaking day in its history.
During the new season’s launch, 44.7 million players engaged in 102 million hours of gameplay, leading some players to encounter login issues and queue delays.
Fortnite, which debuted in 2017, pits up to 100 players against each other in a last-player-standing showdown.
The game is currently in its fourth chapter, with each season introducing various changes and features. Fortnite OG brings back locations and weapons from the game’s early days while retaining some of the updated mechanics from later seasons.
Fortnite’s latest update also broke records by attracting 6.2 million concurrent players, an all-time high for the game.
Despite this achievement, Epic Games recently announced significant layoffs due to financial challenges. The company’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, admitted that they had been “spending more than it earned.”
