Apple subpoenaed Steam for info it says will help with its ongoing legal battle with Epic Games

Epic's "homage" to 1984
(Image credit: Epic Games)

Apple has subpoenaed Epic Games competitor Steam in a bid to gather information that it says will help with its ongoing legal battle with Epic Games.

The subpoena – which was disclosed via a joint discovery letter that detailed Valve's push back at the demand – was made on the grounds that Steam "is a direct competitor to the Epic Games Store".

However, despite Epic's insistence that the request "does not raise risk of any competitive harm", Valve says it had "already produced documents regarding its revenue share, competition with Epic, Steam distribution contracts, and other documents" and didn't believe it was necessary to disclose "six years’ worth of PC game and item sales for hundreds of third-party video games, then produce a massive amount of confidential information about these games and Valve’s revenues" (thanks, PC Gamer).

Consequently, although Apple and Valve have reportedly "met and conferred telephonically and exchanged correspondence in a good faith effort to resolve outstanding disputes", "the Parties have been unable to reach an agreement".

It's now up to the court to decide what, and how much, information Valve should be compelled to share.

If you need to catch up on the latest events with the court case, the lawsuits and legal filings between Apple and Epic Games look to be finally nearing a conclusion, with a trial set for May 2021. 

As we explain on our full rundown of the clash, the past few months have certainly been interesting. There have multiple lawsuits from both Apple and Epic Games, and it all started over the circumvention of Apple's 30 per cent transaction fee on the App Store.

This entire saga kicked off on August 13, when Epic Games introduced an update to Fortnite on iOS and Android devices. This update gave players the option to purchase V-Bucks directly from Epic Games themselves, instead of going through the App Store on iOS devices, and the Google Play Store on Android devices. Later that same day, Apple immediately delisted Fortnite from the App Store, and shortly thereafter, Google followed suit by removing the game from the Google Play Store, too.

Given the ban prohibits 116 million players from accessing the game Apple devices, Epic Games hit back by taking the matter to court. 

Here are all the new games of 2021 (and beyond).

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

Latest in Games
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' Gemma actor requests "tips for beginners" from fans of Capcom's action RPG as it's the "first MH game that I've ever played"
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Players in GTA Online running businesses and playing missions
GTA publisher is suing a GTA Online website that lets you buy hacked accounts, which "risks upending the GTA 5 player experience"
Death Stranding 2 trailer showing Sam shooting at an enemy
Hideo Kojima aims to beat the ‘walking simulator’ allegations as Death Stranding 2 releases combat-heavy trailer
A screenshot of a castle in Manor Lords.
Manor Lords dev confirms "castles and sieges are now in the works" for the city builder, as well as a new map that could get its own game mode in the future
Latest in News
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' Gemma actor requests "tips for beginners" from fans of Capcom's action RPG as it's the "first MH game that I've ever played"
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
The Last of Us season 2 trailer shows spores
The Last of Us season 2 is bringing in one of the biggest game omissions from season 1 – and the showrunners say it's for a "good reason"
Daredevil: Born Again
Vincent D'Onofrio responds to a fan who thinks Daredevil: Born Again has "ruined" Kingpin: "Thanks for the support dumbass"