A lawsuit said Google struck a $360 million Activision deal to block a competing app store

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 17 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google has made at least two dozen deals with large app developers to keep them from competing with the Play Store, including an agreement to pay Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI.O) About $360 million over three years, according to a court filing Thursday.

Google also agreed in 2020 to pay Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) The statement stated that the Riot Games unit, which earns “League of Legends”, is valued at approximately $30 million over the course of one year.

The financial details have emerged in a new, unredacted version of a lawsuit that “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games first filed against Google in 2020. It alleged anticompetitive practices related to the search giant’s Android and Play Store businesses.

Google described the lawsuit as unfounded and riddled with characterization errors. It said its deals to keep developers happy reflected healthy competition.

Riot said it is reviewing the deposit. Activision did not respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Epic lost a mostly similar case against Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the other leading App Store provider. An appeal ruling in this case is expected next year.

Google’s agreements with developers are part of an internal effort known as “Project Hug” and described in previous versions of the lawsuit without the specific terms.

Bonus includes payments for publishing on YouTube and credits towards Google Ads and cloud services.

The deal with Activision was announced in January 2020, shortly after Google was told it was considering launching its own App Store. The partnership with Riot was also intended to “stop the App Store’s ‘in-house’ efforts,” the court papers say.

Google at the time expected billions of dollars in losses in App Store sales if developers fled to alternative systems.

The lawsuit, filed by Epic, alleges that Google knew that signing with Activision “effectively ensured that (Activision) would abandon its plans to launch a competing App Store.” The lawsuit added that the agreement increases prices and reduces the quality of service.

Other companies that signed with Google, as of July, include game makers Nintendo Co (7974.T) and Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBIP.PA)Meditation app Calm and Education, Age of Learning app company, according to court papers.

Reporting by Parrish Dave. Editing by Jonathan Otis, Richard Chang, and Josie Kao

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