antitrust

Report: Activision Blizzard ending Overwatch, Call of Duty League’s competitive balance tax, salary cap

Activision Blizzard is eliminating the competitive balance tax and soft salary cap for its Overwatch League and Call of Duty League, as first reported by the Sports Business Journal and confirmed by Dot Esports. The decision comes after the opening of a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division investigation into the Overwatch League’s practices. Dot Esports broke news of that probe in July, with an Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirming that the DOJ had opened an inquiry and that the game developer was complying.  “We have received an inquiry from the

Court rules in Epic Fortnite lawsuit that Apple must allow devs to offer their own in-app purchase methods

A California court ruled today that Apple must permanently allow developers to include third-party in-app purchase methods, such as links to their own websites, on iOS apps as a part of its final decision in the hallmark Epic Games v. Apple court case that was argued in May. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers issued a 185-page permanent injunction today, explaining her ruling and thoughts on the case. She said the court could not rule that Apple is a “monopolist” under state or federal

Epic Games Lawsuit Reveals How Far Google Allegedly Went to Maintain Android App Market

Google worked harder than initially suspected to keep Fortnite on its Play Store. / Photo courtesy of Epic GamesAfter Epic Games last year added a way for Fortnite players on Android devices to pay it directly, circumventing the Google Play Store and cutting Google out of the transactions, Google promptly removed Fortnite from its store, and Epic Games slapped the tech giant with a suit alleging monopolistic practices.The judge in the case, Judge James Donato, unsealed a fully unredacted version of Epic's original complaint against Google (H/T Leah Nylen), and

Google Considered Buying Epic Games, Per Court Documents

Lifted redactions from the antitrust lawsuit filed by Epic Games reveal Google considered buying the video game titan to end their app store dispute. PlatoAi. Web3 Reimagined. Data Intelligence Amplified. Click here to access. Source: https://www.dbltap.com/posts/google-considered-buying-epic-games-per-court-documents-01fcgrzm6nw2?utm_source=RSS

China roundup: Games are opium, algorithms need scrutiny

Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch’s China roundup, a digest of recent events shaping the Chinese tech landscape and what they mean to people in the rest of the world. The question for the tech news cycle in China these days has become: Who is Beijing’s next target? Regulatory clampdowns are common in China’s tech industry but the breadth of the recent moves has been unprecedented. No major tech giant is exempted and everyone is being attacked from a slightly different angle, but Beijing’s message is clear: Tech businesses are to

US Justice Department Reportedly Investigating Overwatch League

OverwatchThe Justice Department is investigating the salary cap in the Overwatch League. / Photo courtesy of BlizzardThe United States Department of Justice's antitrust division is investigating the Overwatch League over a soft salary cap policy that may violate the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, reports Dot Esports.The inquiry centers around the lack of a players' union in the Overwatch League. A union would allow the league to apply for "non-statutory labor exemption," a status granted to the NFL, NBA, and other sports leagues with unions, making the use of a salary

U.S. Department of Justice opens antitrust inquiry into Overwatch League’s soft salary cap, ‘competitive balance tax’

The U.S. Department of Justice antitrust division is probing the Overwatch League over its soft salary cap policy that discourages teams from excess spending, sources familiar with that inquiry told Dot Esports. The probe is being headed by DOJ trial attorney Kathleen Simpson Kiernan, who works for the Civil Conduct Task Force subdivision of the antitrust division in Washington. Kiernan and other DOJ attorneys have contacted and interviewed several former Overwatch League employees, according to sources. The nature of Kiernan’s investigation is not criminal, sources said. DOJ officials did not

Revenue Split Leading To Legal Actions Again Steam?

When it comes to digital marketplaces to purchase games then for years now Valve’s Steam marketplace has been the dominant go-to source. It’s been around for ages and it allows players to purchase games from a reputable source. Likewise, this storefront has a user-friendly interface with plenty of features to make it a nice hub for a community to connect with. However, over the past couple of years, there’s been a pretty big competitor that Steam has to work against. Epic Games opened up the Epic Games Store and at