Just a month and a half after publisher Epic Games made its games, including Fortnite, available on third-party app stores, it is now suing tech giants Samsung and Google over access to those app stores.

In a post on its website, Epic Games accused the two companies of blocking access to third-party app stores that compete with Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. Epic says an opt-in feature introduced by Samsung last year, Auto Blocker, will be enabled by default starting in July, making it harder for Samsung mobile users to access third-party app stores like AltStore Pal or OneStore. The company says it now takes 21 steps to bypass the auto-blocker and access these storefronts.

“Auto Blocker is the latest in a long line of agreements in which Google and Samsung have agreed not to compete with each other in order to protect Google’s monopoly power,” Epic said in its post. “Auto Blocker cements the Google Play Store as the only viable way to load apps onto Samsung devices and prevents all other stores from competing on a level playing field.”

The lawsuit against Epic Games is just the latest salvo in an ongoing war the game maker and publisher has waged against Google and, most notably, Apple over the fees those companies charge when companies distribute apps or in-game content through their storefronts sell. Epic sued Apple and Google back in 2020 and had mixed results. Epic lost a lawsuit against Apple in 2021 and another in 2023, but dealt a blow to Google in an antitrust lawsuit late last year.

Epic argues that players should have the freedom to install apps from storefronts other than Apple’s App Store and Google Play, which set their own fee structures; It has its own storefront called Epic Games Store. Meanwhile, Apple and Google say their stores are more secure and malware-proof. They say the associated fees, 30 percent of app revenue, cover the high costs of maintaining these businesses.

“Contrary to Epic Game’s claims, Samsung actively promotes competition in the market, expands consumer choice and conducts its business fairly,” a Samsung spokesperson said. “The features built into our devices are designed in accordance with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy and user control, and we remain committed to protecting users’ personal information. Users have the option to deactivate the auto-blocker at any time. That’s what we plan to do.” to vigorously contest Epic Game’s baseless claims.

Making matters worse, Europe subjects tech companies to greater scrutiny due to monopolistic practices – Epic Games has been able to offer more access to its games via third-party apps in these countries than in the US

Google did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.