Court filings: Epic says Google called plans to distribute Fortnite via sideloading a threatening “contagion”, and contemplated buying some or all of Epic
Google supposedly wanted Fortnite on the Play Store so bad that it floated internal plans to buy Epic. https://www.theverge.com/... Evan Greer / @evan_greer : Lol, definitely no monopoly concerns to see here folks https://twitter.com/... Gran PC / @granpc : tired: making sideloading easy wired: purchasing an entire game studio to make them distribute their game on your store https://www.theverge.com/... Tom Warren / @tomwarren : Google considered buying “some or all” of Epic during Fortnite clash, court documents reveal 😬 Here's @thedextriarchy with the details: https://www.theverge.com/...
The VergeAdi Robertson
Context & Ripple Effects
Epic’s 2020 suit challenged Google’s Play Store payment restrictions; these filings add allegations about how Google internally viewed Fortnite’s alternative distribution route. The dispute later produced a jury finding that Google held monopoly power in Android app distribution and in-app billing, a result Google said it would appeal in the related coverage.
First-order effects
Epic gains filing-level support for its argument that Google treated sideloading of Fortnite as a threat to Play Store control, while Google must defend internal discussions over a possible acquisition of Epic.
Other Android developers challenging Play Store terms gain a more concrete account of the incentives Google saw in keeping a major title inside its distribution channel.
For Epic, the sideloading dispute becomes part of a broader case against Google’s app-distribution and billing position rather than a fight limited to Fortnite.
Third-order effects
The case points to platform gatekeepers facing greater antitrust exposure when efforts to retain marquee developers are presented as protecting a closed distribution system, not merely competing for content.
If courts continue to credit this evidence, negotiations over app-store placement and payment terms may shift toward more explicit alternatives to platform-controlled distribution.
The trend: The Epic-Google litigation is part of a broader test of whether mobile platforms can use commercial leverage to preserve control over app distribution and in-app billing.
Whether this would have been a negotiation to buy Epic or some sort of hostile takeover attempt is unclear. Here Google also talks about the “frankly abysmal” sideloading experience they created, all while touting Android publicly as an “open platform”.
This was unbeknownst to us at the time, and because of the court's protective order we're just finding out now about Google's consideration of buying Epic to shut down our efforts to compete with Google Play. https://www.theverge.com/...
Google really giving away the game here; they a) admit that sideloading UX sucks, b) admit that the effect of that is to drive people to Play, c) recognize efforts by Epic et al to break up Play are bad for business, and d) are willing to spend lots of money to shut those down. h…
People: “If you don't like iOS lockdown, just switch to Android, which allows sideloading.” Google's own managers: Android sideloading is “frankly abysmal”, “an awful experience”, “most will not go through the 15+ steps.” https://twitter.com/...
We live in the cypherpunk timeline where a developer of shootem-up-sci-fi games is on the front lines of whether our civilization will empower people with their own AIs or enslave them to monopoly megacorp AIs. https://twitter.com/...
This is a perfect example of why we need to pass @MattGaetz's and my Big Tech antitrust bills. Our bill - the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act - will keep Google and other Big Tech companies from being able to destroy competition through buying up competitors!
A little Epic v. Google news based on a less-redacted complaint — Google supposedly wanted Fortnite on the Play Store so bad that it floated internal plans to buy Epic. https://www.theverge.com/...
Google considered buying “some or all” of Epic during Fortnite clash, court documents reveal 😬 Here's @thedextriarchy with the details: https://www.theverge.com/...