Category Archives: Fortnite

Google loses antitrust trial to Fortnite maker Epic Games

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Google says it will appeal lawsuit accusing it of moving to quash competitors and charging unfair fees

Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, has prevailed in an antitrust trial over Alphabet’s Google Play app marketplace, Epic’s chief executive said on Monday, hours after the federal jury took up the case.

“Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January,” Tim Sweeney wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Shell called out for promoting fossil fuels to youth via Fortnite game

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Climate activists condemn oil giant for paying influencers to showcase marketing game from new gasoline campaign

Climate activists are calling out Shell for partnering with popular video gamers and online youth influencers to promote fossil fuels to a younger generation.

The oil giant, which in July reported quarterly profits of more than $5bn (£3.9bn), worked with Fortnite creators and paid popular gamers on multiple platforms to showcase its “ultimate road trips” promotion, part of a marketing campaign for a new gasoline it calls V-Power Nitro+.

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Gaming is culture – even Fortnite has something to say about society

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In the first edition of our gaming newsletter: why games, like all art, have the power to connect, entertain and cause change

Welcome to Pushing Buttons, the Guardian’s brand new gaming newsletter. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every weeek, just pop your email in below – and check your inbox (and spam) for the confirmation email.

I want to use this first issue to tell you what to expect from this newsletter. The gaming world is fast-moving, and it can be hard to keep up with while also living a busy real life. I want to be a friendly guide to what’s interesting and relevant, and what games are worth your valuable time and attention.

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From Fortnite to Fifa, online video game players warned of rise in fraud

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After games boom in pandemic, gangs are using phishing and malware to cheat fans out of money and reveal their personal data

Players of online video games such as Roblox, Fortnite and Fifa are being warned to watch out for scammers, amid concerns that gangs are targeting the platforms.

Multiplayer games boomed during the pandemic lockdowns as people turned to socialising in virtual spaces.

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Facebook’s attempt to vilify Apple tastes like sour grapes

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Analysis: Facebook says objections to Apple feature that affects apps are bid to defend small businesses – but do we believe it?

Never afraid of a challenge, Facebook appears to have embarked on a campaign to convince the world to hate Apple, love targeted advertising, and believe the social network when it says it is doing it all out of a desire to defend small businesses.

On Wednesday, the company launched a series of full-page newspaper adverts and a press conference where the company put forward small businesses who said they relied on app-tracking to find customers. It also announced it would be siding with the Fortnite developer Epic Games in the latter’s lawsuit over control of the iOS App Store.

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Fortnite could face year-long Apple ban, says Epic Games

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Court filings reveal Apple may delay return even if developer backtracks in App Store dispute

Fortnite could be banned from iPhones and other Apple devices for a year, the game’s developer, Epic Games, has revealed, as the court battle between the two companies continues.

The scale of the ban was revealed in a legal filing from Epic, which asks the court to force Apple to allow the game back on the iOS App Store while the wider lawsuit winds its way to a full hearing.

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Microsoft joins court battle between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic

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Dispute over in-app purchases is seen as proxy war over future of App Store

Microsoft has joined the court battle between Apple and Epic Games, filing a legal brief supporting the Fortnite developer’s right to carry on developing software for Mac and iOS while the case continues.

The submission, signed by Kevin Gammill, the executive in charge of supporting developers on Microsoft’s Xbox console, is further evidence that the lawsuit over in-app purchases in Fortnite is set to become a proxy war over the future of the App Store.

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Apple and Google remove Fortnite video game from app stores

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Move over payment guideline violations prompts maker Epic Games to take legal action

Apple and Google have removed the enormously popular video game Fortnite from their app stores for violating their in-app payment guidelines, prompting the maker, Epic Games, to take legal action challenging the tech giants’ iron grip over the industry.

Its removal from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store came after Fortnite circumvented the companies’ in-app payment system and hefty fees, encouraging users to pay the gaming company directly.

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Fortnite owner gives up battle against Google Play store

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Epic makes its blockbuster game available in store, an embarrassing climbdown

Fortnite for Android is available through the Google Play store for the first time, almost 18 months after owners Epic Games tried to use the game’s popularity to break the app store duopoly.

The release is an embarrassing climbdown for Epic, which has sunk significant resources into building its own independent games service, and is sure to reignite accusations of anti-competitive behaviour on the parts of both Apple and Google.

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British boy becomes Fortnite millionaire in World Cup tournament

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Jaden Ashman, 15, known as Wolfiez, came second in the video game’s duos competition

A British teenager has won $1.25m (£1m) by coming second in the first Fortnite World Cup in New York on Saturday.

Jaden Ashman, 15, who competes under the name Wolfiez, was placed second alongside his Dutch teammate Dave Jong, 21, in a duos round of the battle royal-style shooting game that has more than 250 million players worldwide.

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Fortnite maker pulls ads over YouTube ‘paedophile ring’ claims

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Epic Games joins Nestlé in abandoning video site over comments section scandal

The maker of Fortnite has pulled adverts from YouTube amid concerns that promotions for the video game, which is popular with children, were appearing alongside comments posted by paedophiles.

Epic Games confirmed it had withdrawn its adverts from the Google-owned site, joining Nestlé in temporarily abandoning it due to the latest scandal over inappropriate content.

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‘A shambles’: hundreds demand refunds from Fortnite Live festival

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Computer game-themed event near Norwich underwhelming and understaffed, visitors say

Hundreds of people have demanded refunds after a Fortnite computer game-themed festival was branded a shambles.

The two-day Fortnite Live event at Norfolk showground near Norwich had visitors queueing for hours to enter the site and collect wristbands on Saturday. Attendees complained that the attractions were underwhelming and understaffed.

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