Google Play’s ‘Bribe and Block’ Ploy Hurt Rivals, Epic Says

Developer deals help compete with Apple App Store, Google says
Tech giant profits from knocking out competitors, Epic claims

The icon for Google LLC's Play Store application, center, is displayed on a Huawei Technologies Co. P20 Pro smartphone in an arranged photograph taken in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, May 20, 2019. Top U.S. corporations from chipmakers toGooglehave frozen the supply of critical software and components toHuawei, complying with aTrumpadministrationcrackdownthat threatens to choke off China's largest technology company.Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

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By Malathi Nayak

November 6, 2023 at 10:17 PM UTC

Updated on

November 7, 2023 at 5:36 AM UTC

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Alphabet Inc. used a “bribe and block” strategy to thwart competition against its Google Play app marketplace, hurting developers and raising prices for consumers, Epic Games Inc. said as it began its courtroom battle with the technology giant.

Epic, which makes the popular Fortnite game, is looking to upend Google Play policies in an antitrust trial over whether Google has monopolized the Android app distribution and payment market. The case threatens billions of dollars in revenue generated by the store.