Epic Lawsuit Claims Google Blocked 'Fortnite' Deals

Epic Games already announced it’s suing Apple over the company removing Fortnite from its App Store due to the “Mega Drop” that offered players a way to purchase items directly from Epic for a lower price. Now Google has also pulled Fortnite from its mobile app store, and Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against that company too.

OnePlus via engadget

Fortnite is currently unavailable on Google Play. More information will be forthcoming soon.

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 14, 2020

As The Verge points out, the filing specifically cites a situation concerning the special version of Fortnite Epic offered in a OnePlus tie-in. No, not the arrangement for an exclusive emote — instead it’s focusing on the deal for a version of the game built to run at 90Hz and highlight the fast-refreshing screen on their phones. According to the suit, Google prevented OnePlus from offering the game with an install method that bypassed the app store for devices outside of India, and also prevented LG from making a similar deal.

Related: Italy's Internet Strains Under the Load of Quarantined Kids Playing Fortnite

Google issued a statement about removing Fortnite from the Play Store, prior to news of the lawsuit, that said “we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”