An ongoing dispute between Epic Games and Apple over in-app purchases has come to a head. Users will no longer be able to download any title owned by Epic Games, such as Fortnite.
The split is the result of tensions which have been rising between the companies ever since the Epic Games Store was launched. The short argument is that Epic Games violated both Google and Apple’s terms of service by allowing players to purchase V-bucks directly from its store at a discount, thus undercutting and denying the app store its 30% cut of the sale. Epic Games argues the clause it supposedly violated is itself in violation of antitrust laws.
As a result, users will no longer be able to download any Epic Games title from the iTunes store, though it is possible for gamers to still play Fortnite if they already have it installed. They just won’t be able to download any of its future updates or make any in-game purchases. This would also mean that any game which relies on the Unreal Engine may disappear from mobile devices entirely. This tracks with the confirmation two days ago that Fortnite Season 4 would not be coming to Apple devices.
The move by Apple is in clear response to the lawsuit Epic Games filed two weeks ago, alleging that the company is engaging in monopolistic and anti-competitive practices. A nearly identical complaint was filed against Google. In order to win the legal argument, Epic Games will have to prove that Apple and/or Google meet the legal definition of a monopoly, and that the clause in the mobile markets’ terms of services restrict the developer’s activity in violation of antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
There has been a lot of tit-for-tat going on between Apple and Epic Games, and it seems it started with a 2 AM email to Tim Cook railing against the platform’s payment restrictions. This came around the same time that the “Nineteen-Eighty-Fortnite” short was released, comparing Apple to Big Brother. The company claims that Epic Games wanted special treatment and filed its own suit, which Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said it was “misleading.”
This latest move by Apple draws a clear line in the sand: if Epic Games will not play by iTunes’ rules, it will not get to release games on the mobile ecosystem or use its developer tools, regardless of whether the lawsuits hold any water. Google may or may not choose to follow Apple’s lead.
Source: Engadget
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