Google Tried To Buy Epic Games And Squash Fortnite
We all know things got nasty in THAT legal drama between Apple and Epic Games, but did you know Google once tried to buy the developer and squash Fortnite? As a brief history lesson, Apple and Epic locked horns over Apple's cut of in-game purchases.
Neither side was willing to cooperate and reach a deal about Apple's 30% slice of the Fortnite pie, so instead, the tech giant pulled the game from its stores and both sides tried to sue.
While there's still a Fishstick-shaped hole in the Apple Store, the court documents have made for some interesting reading.
Why did Google try to buy Epic Games?
In newly opened court documents, there's confirmation that Google tried to buy Epic - presumably to avoid a situation similar to Apple. Epic also butted heads with Google for its own take of the profits, however, things have been less tumultuous than the Apple saga.
After Epic refiled its antitrust complaint against Google, we've got a closer look at what went down between both sides. There are internal Google communications that discuss gaming on Android, and now, Epic claims Google tried to buy it because the latter was threatened by plans to get around the Google Play Store cut.
Epic said the following, "Google has gone so far as to share its monopoly profits with business partners to secure their agreement to fence out competition, has developed a series of internal projects to address the “contagion” it perceived from efforts by Epic and others to offer consumers and developers competitive alternatives, and has even contemplated buying some or all of Epic to squelch this threat".
Unfortunately, the messages where Google spoke about a potential buyout remain hidden. The complaint also doesn't reveal whether Google actually reached out to Epic with an offer. Still, it's interesting that Google could've felt threatened by lil ol' Epic.
When did Google try to buy Epic Games?
Another section maintains that a Google Play Manager contacted Epic and spoke about the "frankly abysmal" experience of trying to download the title: "One manager contacted Epic’s Vice President and Co-Founder to gauge Epic’s interest in a special deal and, among other things, discussed 'the experience of getting Fortnite on Android' via direct downloading. The manager’s call notes state that she viewed direct downloading Fortnite as 'frankly abysmal' and 'an awful experience', and that Epic should 'worry that most will not go through the 15+ steps'."
There's no timeframe on when all of the above went on, but we guess it would be around 2018 - when Epic first made plans to get Fortnite on Android. Interestingly, Google has a different view on how things went down. Speaking to The Verge, a Google spokesperson said, "Epic’s lawsuit is baseless and mischaracterizes our business conversations. Android provides more choices in mobile devices for developers and consumers".
Epic CEO Tim Sweeny shared his own thoughts on Twitter and claims he only just found out that Google tried to buy the Fortnite developer. Apple's court case with Epic kicked off in May, but we're currently awaiting a ruling to see how that ends. It would've been a landmark acquisition if Google bought Epic, and while it didn't happen, we can still imagine a very different world if Fortnite sat under Google.
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