Epic Games accuses Google of bribing companies to protect its dominance

Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game “Fortnight”, has filed a lawsuit in California accusing Google of concluding deals with various companies to strengthen control of the app distribution market and secure billions of dollars in revenue.

Epic captures Apple and Google, which dominate the global mobile application market. (30%)

Unlike the iPhone maker, Google allows you to rely on alternative stores. However, the company that created “Fortnight” is trying to prove that this is not true and confirms that Google’s Android operating system is no more open than its competitor iOS.

Epic Games points out in the lawsuit: “Google has created a barrier to competition (…) by acknowledging that the group could lose billions of dollars if the distribution of Android apps is open to competition, and competing stores, including Epic Store, are advancing.”

Epic’s lawyers began their arguments by playing a court case based on recently obtained documents when the developer tried to avoid the Apple and Google App Stores.

“Fortnight” was immediately excluded from both sites, but it was made available to users of smartphones running the “Android” system (84% of the world’s total mobile devices) thanks to alternative sites, including the game’s website.

In this case, Google noted that it had entered into agreements with other companies to “reduce the risk of other popular developers stopping prioritizing the use of Google Play to distribute their products”.

The giant American team estimates that $ 6 billion and $ 1.1 billion in Play Store profits will be “at risk in 2022”, according to documents relied upon by Epic Games.

The company has filed similar lawsuits in Europe and Australia, accusing it of exploiting its dominance. She is awaiting a verdict in a trial against Apple in May in Oakland, California, USA. (AFP)