4 days ago
Epic Games and Samsung settle lawsuit before the Galaxy Unpacked event
Epic Games and Samsung have reached a confidential agreement regarding a high-profile antitrust lawsuit that was about Samsung's Auto Blocker security feature. The dispute began in 2024 about Samsung's controversial 'Auto Blocker' security feature. Epic Games accused Samsung of restricting the installation of third-party app stores like Epic Games Store on Galaxy devices.
The Auto Blocker feature was introduced with Samsung's One UI 6.0 to enhance the security of the device. It blocks messages containing malicious code, checks app security and prevents unauthorised commands via USB. However, Epic Games argued that this feature makes it harder for users to sideload apps on their devices and alternative app stores like Epic Games Store are not whitelisted by Samsung. Epic claimed that it is done to remove competition for their app stores, the Play Store and Galaxy Store.
This lawsuit was filed in US federal court in San Francisco and named both Samsung and Google as defendants, alleging a coordinated effort to reduce competition in app distribution. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared a post on social media that the case against Samsung has been dismissed after a discussion between the two companies. Sweeny stated, 'We're dismissing our court case against Samsung following the parties' discussions. We are grateful that Samsung will address Epic's concerns.'
Epic didn't elaborate on what discussions were made to reach this settlement. Or how Samsung is going to address these issues. The only hints are that Samsung could make a few changes in the OS like whitelisting the Epic Games Store on Galaxy devices.
The settlement comes days before Samsung's major Galaxy Unpacked event, where the brand is going to launch its latest foldable devices. While Epic dropped its lawsuit against Samsung and withdrew related allegations against Google, a narrow case against Google will continue, focusing on Epic describes as ongoing efforts to discourage users from installing apps outside of Google Play.
