Samsung Galaxy Store
Epic Games has accused Samsung of making it overly difficult to download its popular video game Fortnite on certain mobile devices. In a legal complaint set to be filed, Epic claims that users must navigate through 21 steps, including security warnings and settings adjustments, to install Fortnite on new Samsung products. This complicated process, according to Epic, causes 50% of users to give up before completing the download.
Samsung denies the allegations and says it will “vigorously contest” the claims. The company asserts that it supports market competition and enhances consumer choice. Epic points to a Samsung feature called Auto Blocker, which is designed to prevent app installations from unauthorized sources, as the main issue. This feature is turned on by default and reportedly impacts Fortnite downloads, which Epic argues violates competition laws.
While Samsung says users can disable Auto Blocker, Epic maintains that both Samsung and Google should recognize Fortnite as a legitimate app without triggering warnings. The game used to be available on Google Play, and Samsung had previously collaborated with Epic on Fortnite-related promotions.
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Epic Games has a history of legal battles with Google and Apple over their app store practices. Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO, expressed disappointment at having to take legal action again but said the fight is necessary to create a fair playing field for developers. Epic wants Samsung to introduce a process that allows legitimate third-party apps to bypass Auto Blocker but has been unable to reach an agreement.
Fortnite was removed from both Apple and Google’s app stores in 2020 after Epic introduced its own payment system, and the company recently won a legal battle against Google over app store dominance in December 2023.
