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The video game maker alleges the search giant has found a new way to block rivals with Samsung’s help.
Four years after first suing Google, Epic Games alleges the search giant has found a new way to block rivals, with Samsung’s help.
In a fresh lawsuit, the video game maker claims the two companies have coordinated their efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices through the phone maker’s 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,” Epic Games stated.
“Our litigation alleges that Samsung’s recent implementation of the Auto Blocker feature was intentionally crafted in coordination with Google to pre-emptively undermine the US District Court’s remedy following the jury’s verdict in Epic’s case against Google.”
The previous case stemmed from Epic Games introducing an in-game payment system to the popular Fortnite app, allowing users to circumvent the official payment systems put in place by Google.
As a result, Google banned Fortnite from their app store and claimed the payment system violated its store policy.
In December 2023, the courts ruled in favour of Epic against Google and found that the search giant had monopoly power when it comes to its Play Store and that it has engaged in anticompetitive practices. The jury also agreed that Google has unlawfully made a link between the Google Play Store and the Google Play Billing payment services.
Now, Epic claims that Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature “undermines the jury’s unanimous decision in Epic v Google” because the feature is set to ‘on’ by default.
“Auto Blocker defaulting to ‘on’ requires an exceptionally onerous 21 step process to download an app outside of the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store, mirroring Google’s ‘unknown sources’ process with multiple steps and scare screens,” said Epic.
“Auto Blocker is the first time that Samsung has imposed additional friction on consumers who try to get apps outside of the Google Play Store or the Samsung Galaxy Store.”
In July, Epic announced that its games would be leaving the Samsung Galaxy Store because of the Auto Blocker feature. At the time, Epic said the decision was made in the context of its advocacy for the rights of stores to “exist and compete fairly” on iOS and Android.
The game maker’s new lawsuit asks the court to mandate that Samsung eliminate the Auto Blocker by default and enable competition.
An Epic battle
The Fortnite creator has been fighting this competition battle for many years and not just against Google.
When Epic first took on Google, it also went after Apple for the same reason, though with less success. While a 2021 ruling allowed Epic to gain some ground, an appeals court largely rejected claims that Apple’s App Store policies violate antitrust rules in 2023.
At the time, Epic Games did not have its own app store, but it has since launched one earlier this year.
Once again there was a battle on Apple grounds when Epic criticised the iPhone maker for unfairly blocking its attempts to launch the app store on iOS devices. Apple eventually approved the app store in the EU under the Digital Markets Act.
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