“When Apple refused to fundamentally change the way it operates to defraud Epic, Epic took a sudden, unilateral action that blatantly terminated its contracts with Apple, while filing this lawsuit, which seeks its to justify deliberate infringements after the fact, ”Schiller said.
The tech giant compares to Epic’s recent attempt to allow the App Store to continue Fortnite players to buy currency in-game until shoplifting. “If developers can avoid the digital checkout, it’s the same as if a customer leaves an Apple store without paying for retail product: Apple gets no payment.”
Apple removed Fortnite on August 13 shortly after Epic began offering discounts on the title in the title as players ran the App Store. Shortly afterwards, Epic responded by launching a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the App Store was in violation of anti-trust laws. It also took time to parody Apple’s famous Macintosh ad from 1984. Later that day, Google removed Fortnite from the Play Store. Epic also responded with a lawsuit.
The legal battle Apple and Epic find themselves locked into is a risky one for both companies. Apple sees the potential to draw even more control. Meanwhile, Epic could see Fortnite permanently excluded from the App Store and without a way to update the Unreal Engine, where many third-party developers depend on for their iOS games. The court will hear Epic’s request for a restraining order on Monday.
