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Epic Games, the company behind the popular computer game Fortnite, has opened a new front in the legal battle against Google.
The video game maker has also filed suit in Australia against the alleged distortion of competition within Google’s app store.
The lawsuit follows similar lawsuits that Epic Games has filed against Google and Apple in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. The core of the complaint is that the two tech groups are forcing app developers to part with part of their income.
For apps downloaded via the App Store or Google Play, Apple and Google respectively require their own payment system to be used when made within those apps. At Epic Games, for example, these are coins that players of shooting game Fortnite can buy. The two technology companies, which together supply operating systems for the vast majority of smartphones, charge commissions of up to 30 percent.
Unlike Apple, Google still allows downloading apps from other than its app stores within its Android operating system. But in the new indictment, Epic Games argues that Google is making this “appallingly difficult,” allegedly violating consumer protection laws.
Epic Games’ series of lawsuits against Apple and Google followed the removal of Fortnite from their download stores. The video game company is not alone in its complaints about the commission policy within app stores.
For example, Spotify, Facebook and a group of media companies such as Bloomberg, The New York Times and Disney believe that Apple should do something about the commissions for payments within its app store.
