Gaming
Suit allegations Activision was prevented from creating a competing app store by Google for $360 million
According to reports, Google has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to stop rival app stores from being launched.
Reuters reported that a recently released copy of a lawsuit that Fortnite creator Epic Games initially brought against Google in 2020 shows that the firm paid Activision Blizzard about $360 million over a three-year period.
Google also agreed to pay Riot Games, a League of Legends developer owned by Tencent, $30 million over the course of a year.
In a list of 24 companies that were allegedly compensated in an effort to discourage competition for its Play Store, the lawsuit accuses Google of placing anti-competitive restrictions on mobile device marketplaces. Nintendo and Ubisoft are also named in the lawsuit.
According to reports, the agreements with developers included money for YouTube uploads as well as credits for Google ads and cloud services.
According to Reuters, Google claimed that these agreements to appease developers reflect healthy competition.
With the help of its proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft recently revealed plans to develop a “next generation game store” to compete with Apple and Google.
The lawsuit also stated that in order to eliminate competition from the creator of Fortnite, Google considered making an acquisition bid for Epic Games.
It claimed that Google and Tencent, which holds a 40% stake in Epic, talked about working together to gain some control over the business or possibly plot a hostile takeover.
In order to avoid paying platform holder fees, Epic decided to distribute Fortnite for Android outside of the Play Store. As a result, Google removed the game from its platform. According to Epic, Google felt threatened.
Currently, Epic is contesting the outcome of a comparable antitrust lawsuit it filed against Apple. Nine of the ten counts that the Fortnite creator had brought against the iPhone company were dismissed by the judge last year.
Love Is a Long Road, the Tom Petty song in the GTA 6 trailer, saw a 36,979% stream increase after Rockstar’s reveal this week. Week-on-week Spotify data suggests that, but we’re sure it’s trending similarly on Apple Music and others.
Rockstar and the streaming service released an official Grand Theft Auto Radio playlist with six hours of hits from ZZ Top, Dr. Dre, Megadeth, and others. You can hear it here. Ever wanted to listen to Tom Petty this week?
This week’s Game Awards—what to expect? Geoff Keighley is keeping most announcements under wraps, but he has teased an update on Atlus’ long-awaited Metaphor: ReFantazio. The Persona team’s latest project may be released in 2024, according to rumors.
The title returned this summer after being revealed eons ago, but details are scarce. A new trailer should show more story, gameplay, and systems, as well as a possible launch date. Want to see more of this? The link will tell you when the Game Awards are.
If you play video games, you’ve probably played Skyrim, Bethesda’s decade-old open-world RPG. It’s become a meme after endless rereleases. The company wants to sell paid, player-created mods again after not getting the message from players.
Bethesda tested selling Skyrim mods on Steam in 2015, generously giving modders 25% of the proceeds. After Steam’s 30% platform fee, Bethesda would receive 45%, the “current industry standard.”. After fan backlash, Bethesda removed paid mods, and Steam refunded all purchases.
In subsequent years, Bethesda’s Creation Club added user-created content to Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition, requiring that it not violate lore. Bethesda could also release official Creation Club content on PlayStation.
The developer revealed Bethesda Game Studios Creations and a major update for the oldest RPG today. Players can still upload free mods, but creators can now apply for the Verified Creator Program. Certified modders can charge for their work. Since paid moderators no longer have lore-friendly restrictions, expect chaos.
This is already upsetting the community, and the line between official Creation Club content and moderators is blurring. The fact that paid mods disable PlayStation Trophies but not free Creation content is a disaster.
What do you think of Skyrim’s sorry state? Still playing? How’s the PlayStation Creation Club content?
- Gadgets9 years ago
Why the Nexus 7 is still a good tablet in 2015
- Mobile Devices9 years ago
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Galaxy Note 5: is there room for improvement?
- Editorials9 years ago
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – How bad updates prevent people from enjoying their phones
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Nexus 5 2015 and Android M born to be together
- Gaming9 years ago
New Teaser For Five Nights At Freddy’s 4
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Google not releasing Android M to Nexus 7
- Gadgets9 years ago
Moto G Android 5.0.2 Lollipop still has a memory leak bug
- Mobile Devices8 years ago
Nexus 7 2015: Huawei and Google changing the game