CARY – Epic Games’ antitrust suit against Google over its ban of Epic’s Fortnite is moving close to completion. Both companies are scheduled to present their closing arguments in federal court Monday after failing to agree to a settlement, according to a document filed on Friday.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Google CEO Sundar Pichai met in person for an hour on Dec. 7 after earlier discussions between representatives of both companies.
“These meetings did not result in a settlement,” the companies said in a statement filed with the court.
Judge James Donato had ordered the companies to try to reach a settlement.
Closing arguments are set to begin at 11:30 AM EST, according to Epic.
The text
The full text of the document follows:
“The Court ordered Google and Epic Games to exchange written settlement proposals and to meet in person to discuss a potential settlement.
“After the parties exchanged written settlement proposals, Sameer Samat (Vice President / General Manager, Google) and Don Harrison (President, Global Partnerships & Corporate Development, Google) met with Tim Sweeney (CEO, Epic Games) on December 6, 2023, to discuss a potential settlement. Mr. Samat is responsible for the Android and Google Play businesses. Mr. Harrison (who attended remotely for health reasons) is responsible for the
organization within Google that negotiates partnership agreements with companies that engage in
business across Google’s product areas (e.g., Spotify).
“The meeting lasted 60-90 minutes. After that meeting, Sundar Pichai (CEO, Google) and Mr. Sweeney met in person for a follow-up discussion about a potential settlement. That meeting occurred the next day, December
7, 2023, and lasted approximately 60 minutes.
“Counsel for Google (Glenn Pomerantz) and Epic Games (Gary Bornstein) attended both
meetings.
“These meetings did not result in a settlement.”
