Apple is using all the tools at its disposal to fight Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit over the App Store, and that apparently includes recruiting one of Epic’s rivals … or rather, trying to recruit one of them. How I more reports, Apple and Valve sent a letter to the joint court indicating that they were unable to reach an agreement on a subpoena requesting data from Steam.
Apple wanted information on Steam’s annual financial performance, as well as details on the availability of 436 titles, to help assess the total market size for Epic’s available digital launch channels. In theory, this would show that there is a lot of competition.
Valve declined the request, however, claiming that the request was too broad, asked for “highly confidential” information and would impose an “extraordinary burden” on the team. Third parties control their prices and game content on Steam, and Apple is simply using Steam as a shortcut to that data, Valve added. He also questioned Apple’s need for information in the first place, noting that Valve did not compete in mobile app stores and that an order for 436 games “does not show” the scope of the market.
The Steam developer added that Apple seemed to contradict its own past. He previously argued that the market involved platforms where Fifteen days was available, but now focused on the mobile world.
The judge in the lawsuit has not yet ruled in favor of Apple or Valve after this letter. This illustrates Apple’s strategy, however. If Valve’s refusal is upheld, it will also leave Apple without some of the data it hoped to use in court. While there is no guarantee that the data would help, Apple may have to rely on alternative support if it is to defend itself against Epic’s claims in the United States and abroad.