TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Nov 07, 2024

Google struck $360-mln Activision deal to block rival app store, lawsuit says

Google struck $360-mln Activision deal to block rival app store, lawsuit says

Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google has struck at least 24 deals with big app developers to stop them from competing with its Play Store, including an agreement to pay Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) about $360 million over three years, according to a court filing on Thursday.
Google also agreed in 2020 to pay Tencent Holdings Ltd's (0700.HK) Riot Games unit, which makes "League of Legends," about $30 million over one year, the filing stated.

The financial details emerged in a newly unredacted copy of a lawsuit that "Fortnite" video game maker Epic Games first filed against Google in 2020. It alleged anticompetitive practices related to the search giant's Android and Play Store businesses.

Google has called the lawsuit baseless and full of mischaracterizations. It said its deals to keep developers satisfied reflect healthy competition.

Activision said it never entered into an agreement with Google to not open an app store.

"Google never asked us, pressured us, or made us agree not to compete with Google Play," Activision said. "Epic’s allegations are nonsense."

Riot said it was reviewing the filing.

Epic last year mostly lost a similar case against Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the other leading app store provider. An appellate ruling in that case is expected next year.

The Google agreements with developers are part of an internal effort known as "Project Hug" and were described in earlier versions of the lawsuit without the exact terms.

The remuneration includes payments for posting to YouTube and credits toward Google ads and cloud services.

The deal with Activision was announced in January 2020, soon after it told Google it was considering launching its own app store. Partnering with Riot also intended to "stop their in-house 'app store' efforts," court papers say.

Google at the time forecast billions of dollars in lost app store sales if developers fled to alternative systems.

Epic's lawsuit alleges that Google knew signing with Activision "effectively ensured that (Activision) would abandon its plans to launch a competing app store." The agreement increases prices and lowers quality of service, the lawsuit added.

Among others that signed with Google, as of July, were gamemakers Nintendo Co (7974.T) and Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBIP.PA), meditation app Calm and education app company Age of Learning, according to the court papers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×