The developer behind ‘Fortnite’ is suing Apple after
the iPhone maker yanked the game from the App
Store
Epic Games sued Apple on Thursday, accusing it of engaging in
anticompetitive behavior through its App Store.
It filed the legal paperwork after Apple pulled
“Fortnite” from the App Store. The company said Epic violated App
Store guidelines by offering a new way to make in-app purchases
that bypassed the controversial 30% fee charged by Apple’s and
Google’s app stores. Epic announced earlier on Thursday
that players would get a permanent 20% discount on V-Bucks, the
in-game currency in “Fortnite,” if they paid directly through Epic.
It’s the latest escalation in a battle between app developers and
the tech giants, particularly Apple. Developers and lawmakers alike
have criticized Apple for taking a large cut of purchases made in
the apps in their stores and wielding power over developers. Epic
Games, the company behind “Fortnite,” filed an injunction against
Apple on Thursday, accusing it of engaging in anticompetitive
behavior via its App Store.
Earlier Thursday, the gaming company announced the
ability to make in-game purchases directly through Epic, bypassing
the 30% cut Apple and Google take from in-app purchases. In
response, Apple pulled “Fortnite” from the App Store, with Google’s
Play Store following suit later in the day .
An Apple representative told Business Insider that “Fortnite”
was removed after Epic “took the unfortunate step of violating the
App Store guidelines.” Google did not respond to a request for
comment, but told The Verge that it could “no longer make it
available on Play because it violates our policies.”
The escalation is the latest development in an on-going battle
over the power that Google and Apple wield over app makers, which
has developers and lawmakers alike criticizing the tech giants’
policies.
“Apple’s removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple
flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable
restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS
in-app Payment Processing Market,” Epic’s complaint reads.
Shortly after Apple removed “Fortnite” from its store, it also
launched a short film titled “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite,” a scathing
parody of Apple’s famous “1984” commercial.
Here’s Apple’s statement in full:
“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the
App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer
and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result
their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a
feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and
they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store
guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer
who sells digital goods or services. “Epic has had apps on the App
Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem
including its tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides
to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and
guidelines freely and we’re glad they’ve built such a successful
business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests
now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the
fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all
developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make
every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they
can return Fortnite to the App Store.”
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Bypassing Apple and Google The issue stems from an offer Epic
announced on Thursday called the “Fortnite Mega Drop” : a permanent
20% discount on V-Bucks, the in-game currency in “Fortnite.”
The new prices are available on PCs and consoles but not
necessarily on mobile: Epic said that because Apple and Google take
a 30% cut of purchases made within their app stores, it couldn’t
provide the 20% discount for gamers who pay through those
stores.
Instead, Epic directed players to use its direct payment system
“to get the best deal on V-Bucks and real-money purchases.”
In an FAQ page on Epic’s website, the company said it was
offering the new payment options to provide more choice to players
and to pass along savings to them.
“Thousands of apps on the App Store are allowed by Apple to
accept direct payments, including commonly used apps like Amazon,
Grubhub, Nike SNKRS, Best Buy, DoorDash, Fandango, McDonalds, and
StubHub,” the company said.
Epic added: “Clearly Apple acknowledges that third party payment
services are safe and acceptable for goods and services.”
An ongoing battle Epic has sparred with the companies behind the
major app stores before.
Earlier this year, the company gave in to Google after a
months-long battle over the Google Play Store. Epic had initially
refused to offer “Fortnite” through the Play Store, instead
offering the game to Android users via a direct download from
Epic’s website. But Epic eventually acquiesced to Google, saying
that the company “puts software downloadable outside of Google Play
at a disadvantage” by classifying it as malware and citing
nonexistent security issues, according to The Verge .
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has also spoken out about Apple’s policies,
saying in a tweet last month that the company had “gone crazy.”
“Apple has no right to take any percent of any company’s revenue
just because they made the phone people use to access the stuff,”
Sweeney tweeted.
Epic’s latest changes signal a growing animosity between app
developers and Apple’s App Store in particular. Developers have
long argued that Apple wields too much power over developers and
demands too high a cut of in-app purchases. Most recently, the
email app Hey was barred from the App Store after it refused to
stop directing users outside the store to pay the app’s $99 annual
subscription fee.
Apple’s treatment of app developers has also come under scrutiny
from Congress; lawmakers on the House antitrust subcommittee
recently questioned Apple CEO Tim Cook about whether Apple’s
practices constituted anticompetitive behavior.