Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, was recently involved in a legal dispute with Apple over alleged anti-competitive behaviour. The business is now preparing to sue Google, claiming that the latter paid off developers and discouraged them from creating competing app marketplaces.
The accusations centre on Google’s Project Hug, subsequently known as the “Apps and Games Velocity initiative.” In case you were unaware, it has been reported that Google has paid millions of dollars to maintain the Play Store presence of select Android developers. The complaint was made by Epic Games last year.
According to Epic Games’ motion, “several of these arrangements were intended to, and did, prevent developers from opening competing app shops,” implying that Google had broken the United States’s primary antitrust law known as the Sherman Act.
According to a recent Engadget article, Google stated that they would oppose the motion, adding that “Epic and Match are adding more incorrect claims to their failing litigation and we’re looking forward to setting the facts right in court.”
The Google representative continued by saying that Android users already have access to alternative app stores and that the programme Epic Games is fighting against offers Android developers incentives and users early access to Google Play users whenever they introduce new content.
However, the US Department of Justice and a coalition of more than 36 states have already criticised Google over its store fees.