CARY – Epic Games has filed an update to its antitrust case against Google, including adding mostly redacted details about the alleged monopolistic actions on the Android platform, inclusive of the banning of Fortnite on the Google Play Store in 2020.

WRAL TechWire wrote about the case, after an amended complaint was filed in early July, with the deadline to furnish additional details.  The case had become a multi-party case.

Now, Epic has filed the amended complaint.  According to reporting from The Verge, the complaint includes information gleaned from government antitrust probes and documents produced since the original suit was filed.

“One addition, for instance, includes details revealed last year about ‘the close relationship that Google maintains with Apple,’ including an agreement to pay between $8 and $12 billion to be Apple’s default search provider. It also includes new information about Google’s supposed anti-competitive conduct, including its deals with phone makers and alternate app stores,” The Verge reported.

This case against Google is running concurrently with a prior case filed against Apple, which WRAL TechWire covered earlier this year, as one WRAL TechWire contributor called it the “Super Bowl of court cases.”

Epic Games to amend complaint in lawsuit against Google

Epic, in the amended filing, says that documents filed by Google earlier in the process suggest that “very carefully phrased arguments in Google’s pending motion to dismiss give a misleading picture of the full scope of Google’s anticompetitive conduct.”

In reporting on the amended filing, iMore noted that it appears Epic Games has pivoted in tone, and is suggesting that Apple and Google have little to no incentive to make people leave iOS, because of an agreement between the two companies.

“Epic Games’ pivot in tone is clear, with the company now looking to insinuate that Apple and Google not only have an alleged monopoly over their respective mobile platforms but a duopoly over the mobile market as a whole. With an estimated 99% share of the smartphone market, the second is perhaps a much easier sell than the first,” the story reads.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Verge:

“The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users. While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. We will continue to defend ourselves against these meritless claims.”

The same statement was shared with iMore.

The original case was filed in August 2020.

Epic Games sues Apple, Google after Fortnite is banned from app stores