Epic Games had an extensive legal battle against Apple and Google months ago. After many efforts, the Fortnite studio achieved a more open ecosystem for both companies, contributing to the launch of the Epic Games Store on iOS and Android, as well as the return of the Battle Royale to mobile devices.
Despite this progress, Epic is still not satisfied with the results, so it filed another lawsuit against Google and additionally started a legal conflict against Samsung. This is due to a feature in their smartphones that prevents the easy and direct installation of the Epic Games Store.
The developer is now seeking changes in this area so that Android users have the freedom and ease to install third-party stores of their choice. Of course, this aims to make the Epic Games Store and Fortnite more popular on Android.
Epic Games, Google, and Samsung start new legal conflict
According to the details, Epic Games believes that Samsung's Auto Blocker feature is a significant barrier to users installing third-party stores on their mobile devices. The company considers that its functionality goes against the advances made in previous lawsuits to achieve a more open mobile ecosystem.
In case you didn’t know, Auto Blocker was introduced to Samsung devices in 2023 as an optional feature that prevents the automatic installation of any application not coming from authorized stores, such as the Google Play Store or Samsung Galaxy Store.
Epic Games' complaint arises because the option is enabled by default, so users cannot install third-party stores with the factory settings of their devices. Of course, this prevents them from installing the Epic Games Store and Fortnite.
In its lawsuit, Epic Games claims that users have to go through an unnecessary multi-step process to disable the feature and thus access third-party stores and applications. The case was filed in the Northern District of California, and the company demands that the Auto Blocker feature not be enabled by default.
Additionally, Epic Games is seeking compensation for damages and legal expenses. It considers that the companies are engaging in anti-competitive and unfair conduct by making users go through an "exceptionally burdensome 21-step process" to download third-party applications.
Moreover, the studio is not happy that Auto Blocker claims the Epic Games Store is software from an unknown source, even though they have worked with Samsung in the past. It also believes the option keeps the Google Play Store as nearly the only option for obtaining content on Samsung devices.
"As an app developer, Epic is harmed by Samsung’s untruthful statements that its apps are unknown and unsafe. These false statements not only harm Epic’s reputation but lead to identifiable instances of users abandoning the installation of Epic apps, resulting in the lost profits that would have resulted from purchases made by those users.
"The jury’s decision was unanimous and clear; Google’s agreements with OEMs to block competition are illegal. This applies not only to Google, but to the device manufacturers that collude with them. We will take all necessary steps to ensure this decision is fully upheld.," the company said in a statement.
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