Epic Games Settles with Samsung on Legal Fight
Epic Games has ended its legal fight against Samsung. The suit was first put up in September 2024. Epic Games' boss, Tim Sweeney, said on X that the case was dropped. He noted, "We are happy that Samsung will look into Epic’s issues."
The Heart of the Fight Samsung's 'Auto Blocker'
At the core of the lawsuit was Samsung's "Auto Blocker" safety tool. It started as a choice in the One UI 6.0 update back in October 2023. It was made to stop app installs from places other than the Samsung Galaxy Store and the Google Play Store.
The fight grew in July 2024 when Samsung set Auto Blocker as the default. Epic Games said this change led to a very hard "21 step process to get an app" from another place, with many steps and "scare screens" to put off users.
Tied to the Big 'Epic v. Google' Case
Epic Games said that Samsung’s move hurt the full jury's yes vote in its big antitrust case against Google. In that case, done on December 11, 2023, judges found that Google kept the Play Store's top spot by breaking the law.
The judge in the Google case told the firm to let other app stores on Android and banned deals that made developers only post on the Play Store. Epic argued that Samsung's Auto Blocker was a new kind of block that went against that judge's decision.
This end is a new part of Epic's wider push for more open app setups. It also saw Epic Games Store start on Android and iOS in Europe on August 16, 2024. They had fought hard in court against both Google and Apple.