Samsung and Epic Games Settle Legal Dispute Over Security Feature

Samsung and Epic Games have reached an agreement on their legal battle over restrictions on app sideloading. The American software company behind the popular online video game Fortnite recently confirmed that it has dismissed its court case against Samsung. Interestingly, this comes just a day before Samsung’s Unpacked event, where it will launch next-gen foldables and watches.

Epic Games drops lawsuit against Samsung ahead of new foldable launch

With One UI 6, Samsung introduced a security feature called Auto Blocker. It restricts users from sideloading apps on their devices to prevent hackers from injecting malware. More importantly, the company turned the feature on by default to enhance device security. This means you must manually disable Auto Blocker first to install apps from unauthorized or third-party sources.

Epic Games objected to this feature because it restricted users from sideloading Fortnite and other games downloaded from its website. The company filed a lawsuit against Samsung, alleging that enabling Auto Blocker by default limits user choice and restricts access to third-party app stores like Epic Games Store. It also dragged Google into the same legal battle, claiming a coordinated effort to block third-party stores.

However, the firm has now withdrawn the lawsuit after reaching an agreement outside of the court. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney confirmed this mutual agreement on X. “We’re dismissing our court case against Samsung following the parties’ discussions. We are grateful that Samsung will address Epic’s concerns,” Sweeney wrote.

It’s unclear what specific changes Samsung has agreed to make, as neither company has shared the terms of the settlement publicly. We can assume either Samsung agreed to turn off Auto Blocker by default in One UI 8 or pre-install the Epic Games Store on upcoming Galaxy devices. In fact, an earlier report suggested that Epic Games Store may come pre-installed on many Android phones, including Galaxy devices.

Things should become clearer soon as Samsung will unveil its new foldable lineup tomorrow, including the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Z Flip 7 FE. We will let you know if any new information emerges following the launch.