Samsung is accused of hindering Fortnite downloads

At what point does installing a game on a smartphone become so complicated that it distorts competition? The courts will soon be able to address this question. As the BBC reports, Epic Games has announced that it will file a legal complaint against Samsung.

The game developer is of the opinion that the effort required to download the in-house shooter Fortnite on Samsung devices is so high that over 50 percent of interested parties simply give up. This represents an unfair disadvantage when selling the popular online game. Samsung denies the allegations.

Fortnite: New Samsung feature requires 21 steps for installation

According to Epic Games, users of newer Samsung devices have to complete 21 steps to install Fortnite. Among other things, settings must be changed and security warnings must be actively ignored. For comparison: On most Android devices from other manufacturers only twelve steps are necessary.

According to Epic Games, 21 steps are simply too many, which in turn has a negative impact on sales figures. The reason for the high effort is the new Samsung Auto Blocker feature, which is activated by default on newer mobile devices. The function allows apps to install themselves and prevent malicious activities.

However, the security precaution that actually makes sense also blocks the installation of FortniteEpic Games was annoyed, after all, Samsung knows full well that the development studio is a trustworthy third-party provider. In the past there have even been many collaborations between the game company and the smartphone provider.

Epic Games against monopolies: Major conflict smolders under Fortnite blockade

That the auto blocker is also on Fortnite The reason it starts is that the game cannot be downloaded from the Google Playstore or the Samsung App Store, i.e. from reliable sources, but only from Epic Games’ own marketplace.

This circumstance is due to a conflict between Epic Games and the large app store operators Google and Apple. These had Fortnite Namely banned from their download marketplaces in 2020 after Epic Games introduced its own in-game payment system from which the two providers were unable to reap any profits.

Epic Games had already taken legal action against this decision and had partly prevailed. At least in EU countries, Fortnite can be played on iOS devices again, and Google also lost the legal dispute at the end of 2023.

Fortnite can therefore be played on Android, but is classified as software from an unknown third party, which triggered the Samsung Auto Blocker.

Samsung for Fortnite– Dispute: “Based allegations”

Epic Games is demanding that game manufacturers be able to apply for a place on a white list in the future, whose members are ignored by the security software by default.

Samsung will “resolutely defend itself” against the baseless allegations. The smartphone manufacturer states that it cares about the security and privacy standards of its customers and will continue to do everything it can to protect these values. Users can also deactivate the auto blocker themselves at any time.

These online games are now ghost towns