In context: Earlier this week, we reported on some new developments in the Epic v. Apple legal battle. To recap, Apple recently asked Valve to provide it with sales information on 436 Steam games, to assist it sympathize the markets Epic competes in. Valve initially refused to mitt over the data due to how burdensome it would be to fulfill the demand, but now, a estimate has ordered the company to comply.

This is unfortunate news for Valve. As the company explained in its original position statement, since it's a private firm, it is not obligated to store and disclose information to the aforementioned extent that a public company would. This means that Valve does not retain the sales data Apple tree asks for as part of its "ordinary class of business organisation."

Valve said that, for every unmarried game Apple tree requested data on, it would need to admission multiple databases that it ordinarily doesn't, and collect "exhaustive" information on historical sales as well as every price change for the titles since 2022.

Guess Thomas Hixson, however, doesn't experience that this process will be particularly crushing for Valve. Evidently, the company verbally described the procedure during a hearing, and it wasn't equally complex as information technology made it seem in its position argument.

One of Valve's other primal objections related to privacy. By giving its data to Apple, Valve claimed, it would be surrendering the competitive reward the confidentiality provides. Hixson disagrees with this, as well, however, noting that the protective order that is allegedly in place should be more than than enough to forbid third parties from obtaining the data.

On the bright side, Hixson has thrown Valve a os -- the company only needs to provide data on the requested games from the yr 2022 and onward, non 2022 as Apple originally requested. The judge reasons that because the Epic Games Store didn't come about until 2022, information from any dates earlier than that would not exist relevant to Apple's case.

You lot tin read the Judge'due south full opinion here, simply we've summarized his ii core arguments above. Nosotros'll update you if Valve appeals the order, merely assuming it doesn't, the company will have until March eight to provide the documents Apple wants.