Fortnite Developer Epic Games Sues Google After Latest Ban

Following the announcement that Fortnite has been removed from the Play Store, Epic Games has [...]

Following the announcement that Fortnite has been removed from the Play Store, Epic Games has announced that they will be pursuing legal action against Google. The news should come as little surprise, as Epic Games announced a lawsuit against Apple for a delisting of the game on the App Store, earlier today. The game was removed from both digital storefronts after a new Fortnite update allowed users to make in-app purchases without going through Apple and Google. These prices were also at lower amounts than the ones that went through the App Store and Play Stores. This is in violation of the rules for both, prompting the ban.

In the lawsuit filing, Epic claims that Google is "using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize." The charges in the lawsuit claim that Google has a monopoly over the distribution of phone software, as well as a monopoly over the payment systems that are a part of it. The entirety of the lawsuit can be found right here.

This is not the first time that Epic Games has accused Apple and Google of monopolistic practices. Earlier this year, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney begged gaming companies to support Nvidia's GeForce NOW, claiming that cloud services would help to end the "iOS and Google payment monopolies." Epic Games has long opposed the policies of Google and Apple, taking issue with the 30% fee on in-app purchases. The company tried its best to avoid listing the game on the Google Play Store, instead encouraging Android users to download the game using a separate Installer app. However, Epic officially added Fortnite to the Play Store back in April, claiming that Google's policies made it difficult to avoid doing so.

Given the swift release of the legal documents and Epic's video decrying Apple's policy, it seems that Epic Games was quite aware of the reaction that Apple and Google would have to the Fortnite update. It will be interesting to see what comes of the lawsuits, however. Fortnite fans have been pressuring the companies to make a deal, but it remains to be seen what will happen next.

Fortnite is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

What do you think about the current Fortnite controversy? Do you think Apple and Google will change their policies? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!

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