Epic Games is suing Google and Samsung over the app store, accusing both entities of illegal collusion to block competition

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1 — FortniteGame maker Epic Games is suing tech giants Google and Samsung, it announced yesterday, accusing them of illegally colluding to block competition on Samsung devices.

CEO Tim Sweeney said his company filed the lawsuit in federal court in California, the same jurisdiction where the company won a multi-year legal battle with Google in 2023.

As part of his long-running fight to force Apple and Google to open up their smartphones to other app stores, he said he would also take up the fight with authorities in Europe and Asia if necessary.

“This is a serious global fight that is ultimately about consumers’ right to enjoy all the benefits of competition and freely choose who they do business with,” Sweeney told reporters.

The latest lawsuit focuses on Samsung’s auto-locking feature.

Epic claims that this feature was implemented in cooperation with Google to challenge a recent US court decision against Google’s app store practices.

Following this decision, Epic in August launched its own app store, which allows users to bypass the Google-run store and offer content directly to smartphone users.

Epic says the Auto Blocker feature secretly blocks the new app store, making it difficult to install apps from sources other than the Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store.

In July, Samsung changed its auto-blocking feature from an “opt-in” feature to a default setting, forcing users to go through a 21-step process of downloading apps from third-party stores or the Internet.

In a statement, Samsung said it plans to “strongly dispute” what it called “Epic Games’ baseless claims.”

“The features integrated into our devices are designed in line with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy and user control, and we are fully committed to protecting your personal information,” the spokesperson added.

No merit

A Google spokesman said the lawsuit was “without merit” and added that Android device makers such as Samsung “may take their own steps to keep their users safe.”

However, Epic argues that the Auto Blocker feature strengthens the Google Play Store’s monopoly and violates the jury verdict in Epic’s earlier legal victory over Google.

In that case, a jury found Google’s app store practices, including its agreements with phone manufacturers, to be illegal.

“Allowing such coordinated, illegal and anti-competitive transactions to occur harms developers and consumers and undermines both the jury verdict and regulatory and legislative progress around the world,” Epic said.

Epic, the company behind the hugely popular Fortnite video games, is asking the court to ban what it calls anti-competitive conduct and order Samsung to remove auto-blocking as a default setting on its devices.

As part of Epic’s ongoing dispute with major tech companies over app store policies and fees, the company also sued Apple, but largely lost that case.

The new lawsuit comes at a time of increased scrutiny of the market power of big tech companies by regulators and legislators around the world, with new laws passed in Europe, Japan and South Korea limiting how the giants can do business.