Valve ordered to hand over sales data for Epic vs Apple case
But judge limits request to four years, rather than the six years Apple originally asked for
A court has ruled that Valve must provide sales and pricing data to Apple as part of the iPhone maker's ongoing legal battle with Epic Games.
Law360 reports that California magistrate judge Thomas S. Hixson ordered the Steam firm must produce historial sales, pricing and other data for 436 games sold through its marketplace.
Apple filed a subpoena requesting this information back in November, arguing that it will be highly relevant to its case, countering Epic's allegations that its App Store engages in monopolistic practices.
Valve originally refused, deeming the task to be too much of a burden given that it is not a party in the case, adding that Apple had not shown "substantial need" for the information.
However, the court has ruled otherwise, offering the consolation: "Apple has salted the earth with subpoenas, so don't worry, it's not just you."
Hixson has made one amendment: Apple originally requested sales data on each of the games reaching back to 2015, but the judge has limited this to 2017.
Apple is facing an antitrust lawsuit from Epic Games that began in August, when the tech giant removed Epic's flagship game Fortnite from the App Store after direct payments were introduced -- circumventing the 30% commission on all transactions Apple mandates from developers who use its marketplace.
Epic filed a similar lawsuit against Google.
Earlier this week, the Fortnite firm's case against Apple was blocked from courts in the UK, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruling that it should be settled in the US.
The US trial is set to take place in May.