Last week, we learned that Apple Valve has sued to collect data on games released via Steam, to help them expand their case in their pending legal effect with Epic Games. Valve argued that they did not have to comply, but yesterday a U.S. judge ruled in Apple’s favor.
The lawsuit is part of Apple’s pending legal dispute with Epic Games, in which Epic claims that Apple’s app store, and the mandatory 30% savings on everything sold there, are competitive. Apple wants data from Valve’s Steam digital distribution platform to demonstrate the size of the market available for games like Fortnite, presumably to argue that Apple has no monopoly.
Apple specifically wants information on 436 games available in the Steam store, including sales data, as a representative example of the entire platform.
In the joint discovery letter filed last week, Valve argued that the requested information was irrelevant to the case, impossible to collect, and that Valve would require them to provide information that they as a private company would prefer not to make available.
Valve made the same arguments Wednesday during a virtual joint discovery hearing, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson joined Apple. He did note, according to MacRumors, that Apple “salted the earth with subpoenas” and told Valve, “Do not worry, it’s not just you.”
It may seem strange that Valve, which is not a party to this lawsuit, could be forced to hand over private information. Summonses are a legal tool designed to compel people or companies relevant to a case to give evidence or testimony. In this case, as the creators of the largest major distribution platform for computer games, and as a competitor of the Epic Games Store, Valve is very relevant. Personally speaking, given the potentially widespread consequences of the outcome of this case – which goes far beyond just Fortnite or Apple – I hope the court will have access to as much information as possible to reach its final decision.
The public battle between Apple and Epic began last August when Epic added a payment method to Fortnite on iOS that bypasses Apple’s standard savings of 30% of all sales on their devices. Apple immediately removed Fortnite from the app store; Epic immediately submitted an ironic animated short and a lawsuit; and the two companies have since been preparing for court and sniffing at each other. The case is expected to be heard in July 2021.
I emailed Valve to comment and whether they intend to appeal the decision for the subpoena.