Google reportedly considered purchasing Epic Games

Google reportedly considered purchasing Epic Games.

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Epic Games claims in a recent court filing that Google considered acquiring some or all of Epic in order to keep Fortnite on Google Play.

Fortnite, Epic Games' battle royale game, has become one of the world's most successful companies. While Epic Games has enjoyed great success, it also has a strong focus on maintaining its independence from third-party storefronts like Steam, the Apple App Store, and Google Play Epic claims that at one point, Google considered acquiring "some or all" of the company as a result of this effort.

Epic Games claims that Google considered an extreme alternative option when Epic Games detached itself from the Google Play Store in order to avoid the storefront's 30 percent fees. In order to keep Fortnite within the Google Play Store environment, Google "contemplated buying some or all of Epic." Rather, Google allegedly viewed Fortnite's independence from the Google Play Store as a threat that could lead to other companies leaving the storefront.

At this time, Google's attempt to acquire some or all of Epic is not supported by concrete evidence. Epic claims it is only now becoming aware of Google's efforts to "shut down" its competition with the Google Play Store. As a result, Epic's portrayal of the subject may be exaggerated or twisted in ways that aren't entirely appropriate. That being said, if it was said in front of a judge, there must be something to it.

Removed from context, Google's consideration of acquiring Epic Games is not illegal. However, considering how much Epic's stock price has risen over the past five years, this seems highly unlikely. A troubling point, especially in light of Google's efforts to maintain control over Android devices and funnel all app sales through the Google Play Store. How can much smaller third parties compete if Google is willing to buy a company worth tens of billions of dollars in order to maintain control?

Epic's court case against Google, as well as its case against Apple and several other lawsuits filed outside of the United States, are still ongoing. Even if the cases go Epic's way, it's unclear what that means for Apple and Android. Every week, it seems, new information is released that is unsettling to the average consumer. A new awareness of what is going on is provided by Epic's cases.

H/S: IGN