Google CEO Sundar Pichai is set to testify in an antitrust trial against Epic Games over Google's app store practices.
Google offered Epic Games $147 million to bring Fortnite to the Google Play Store.
Google offered Netflix a special deal, which was rejected.
Google paid Activision Blizzard $360 million to launch its games on the Play Store.
Google's Margaret Lam has been highlighted for her requests to colleagues to turn off chat history.
The Play Store generates more than $12 billion per year in operating profits for Google.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is set to testify in an antitrust trial against Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, over Google's app store practices. The lawsuit alleges that Google's app store's distribution, payment, and fee policies harm developers and increase consumer prices. Pichai is expected to face questions about Google's payments to major developers such as Activision-Blizzard and Riot Games dating back to 2020. Google asserts that its payments were necessary to stave off competition from Apple's App Store and other similar marketplaces.
The case has revealed that Google offered Netflix a special deal, which was rejected. Google's Margaret Lam has been highlighted for her requests to colleagues to turn off chat history, suggesting an attempt to avoid leaving a document trail. Epic's lawyers will likely question Pichai on Google Play and Android operations, Google's agreements with developers and phone manufacturers, and the company's relationship with Apple.
Google's attorneys plan to question Pichai on how Google Play policies promote competition and on Google's counterclaims that Epic Games breached its contract and acted in bad faith when it tried to establish its own app store. Google reportedly offered Epic Games $147 million to bring Fortnite to the Google Play Store. The offer was made amid legal disputes between the two companies, with Google fearing a 'contagion' effect if other companies followed Epic's sideloading method. Epic declined the offer, briefly put Fortnite on the Play Store in 2020, but then introduced direct payments within the game, bypassing the store's integrated payment method.
The case has also revealed that Google paid Activision Blizzard $360 million to launch its games on the Play Store. Google also rejected apps for 'steering' or pointing to other ways to pay outside the Play Store. The Play Store generates more than $12 billion per year in operating profits for Google.
Google fearing a 'contagion' effect if other companies followed Epic's sideloading method.
Epic declined the offer, briefly put Fortnite on the Play Store in 2020, but then introduced direct payments within the game, bypassing the store's integrated payment method.
The article also mentions allegations of Google destroying evidence in the Fortnite case.
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Google was afraid of something called the 'contagion' effect. Essentially, it was terrified that if it set a precedent by throwing their hands up in surrender to Epic's sideloading method, other companies would do the same and ditch Google Play entirely, leaving Google itself bleeding massive amounts of money.
The case has revealed that Google offered Netflix a special deal, which was rejected.
Google's Margaret Lam has been highlighted for her requests to colleagues to turn off chat history, suggesting an attempt to avoid leaving a document trail.
Epic's lawyers will likely question Pichai on Google Play and Android operations, Google's agreements with developers and phone manufacturers, and the company's relationship with Apple.
Google's attorneys plan to question Pichai on how Google Play policies promote competition and on Google's counterclaims that Epic Games breached its contract and acted in bad faith when it tried to establish its own app store.