Google considered buying Epic Games for $200 million: report

- Sony, which is being sued by Epic Games Inc. over the fees it charges developers in its mobile app store, had at one point considered acquiring the game maker, according to previously redacted documents in the Court fight.

Google has developed a series of private projects to address the contagion it received from efforts by Epic and others to offer consumers and developers competitive alternatives, and has even contemplated buying some or all of Epic to resolve this threat, according to an excerpt from Epic's complaint that was already sealed from public view and was included in a Google filing in San Francisco federal court last night.

Epic is also fighting iPhone maker Apple Inc. over fees of up to 30% that it charges large developers using its App Store. In the case Epic-Apple took place in May, and the companies wait for an opinion from the judge. In its filing Thursday night, Google revealed previously redacted material in their separate legal battle.

The documents shed new light on how Google views the commission that it collects from app purchases and subscriptions in the Google Play Store. A coalition of state attorneys general said in a separate antitrust lawsuit filed in July against Google that the fee is 'extravagant' and harms consumers.

Read more: Epic-Apple judge's decision won't please either side of the lines, even if the accused has been convicted twice.

According to the latest documents, which cite internal Google communications, 30% commission has n o reason and is an 'arbitrary fee.

'We want to feel good about the rev share that we charge - have it make sense to us, the Google documents are quoted as saying. 'And it feels like there is discomfort with what we are charging. Google's internal meeting minutes stated: W e would probably have a stronger backbone if we felt confident about the value exchange.

There's no evidence that Google really tried to buy all of Epic in the complaint.

Tim Sweeney tweeted Epic Chief Executive Officer and founder about the filing of our 4th bankruptcy.

This was unknown to us at the time, he said on Twitter, "and we just found out about Google's decision to buy Epic to shut down our efforts to compete with Google Play.

Thanks in large part to Epics Fortnite game success, Epic is a solid valuation. In its last fundraising round announced in April, the game maker said it was valued at $28.7 billion. The 1 billion round included a strategic investment of Sony Group Corp. with an additional $200 million in executive funding.

Sweeney founded the company in the early 1990 s. It has developed and published several hit games, as well As Unreal Engine, a set of tools used by many developers. Nearly a decade ago, Sweeney sold a 40% stake in Epic to Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Fortnite debuted in 2017 and the battle royale style game became a best seller and it quickly generated billions for Cary, North Carolina-based Epic over the years.