Even though Gabe Newell‘s company didn’t want to partake in the argument between the two companies that spread throughout the world (except in the United Kingdom), a judge ruled that Valve has to be involved after all.

Law360 reports that a California judge, Thomas S. Hixson, has ordered Steam to produce historical sales, pricing, and other data for 436 games so that Apple can receive this package. (Only 436 because that’s the number of games available both on Steam and the Epic Games Store.) Apple will use this data against the ongoing legal dispute against the company led by Tim Sweeney.

As we previously wrote, Apple filed a subpoena requesting this information in November, arguing that it would be highly relevant to the case. This is how Apple countered Epic’s allegations regarding monopolistic practices. We also mentioned that initially, Valve refused to partake in this case, saying it would be too much of a burden, especially how they are not part of the mobile market (which is where the dispute between Epic and Apple/Google began altogether).

Despite Valve’s lack of will to be involved, the court has ruled otherwise. However, they offered the following consolation: „Apple has salted the earth with subpoenas, so don’t worry, it’s not just you.” Also, judge Hixson made an amendment. Valve is not required to provide sales data back from 2015. They only have to provide the data from 2017.

The US trial between Epic Games and Apple will take place in May, and the decision could rock the gaming industry. Epic Games flipped the table on Apple and Google for removing Fortnite from the Apple App Store and Google Play for circumventing their methods of receiving the 30% cut from the microtransactions, implementing a direct payment method.

Source: Gamesindustry