Apple threatens an entire ecosystem of game developers in response to the Fortnite lawsuit, Epic said in a new statement on Sunday.
The motion focuses on iOS support for the Unreal Engine, which Apple has threatened to withdraw as part of Epic’s broader loss of developer rights. Epic has asked the court to limit Apple from denying this access while the case continues. Apple responded to the request on Friday, claiming that it maintained the previously stated policy, but did not deny that iOS support was in jeopardy.
Epic says removing support would be unnecessarily punitive, affecting developers who have built on Epic’s engine but have no direct interest in the matter. “The breadth of Apple’s retaliation is itself an unjustified attempt to maintain its monopoly and cool any action by others who may want to venture against Apple,” the motion read.
The submission came in addition to a new statement from Microsoft in support of Epic’s motion, emphasizing how disastrous it would be to withdraw Epic’s access to Apple’s developers. Any developer who uses the engine will not be able to fix security bugs or fix bugs once access is revoked, and will effectively stop supporting a wide range of games, including Microsoft’s Force.
“Denying Epic access to Apple’s SDK and other development tools will prevent Epic Unreal Engine from supporting iOS and macOS,” said Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s general manager for third-party developers on the Xbox, “and will place Unreal Engine and those game makers who have built, built, and games on it can create in a substantial disadvantage. “
The conflict between Epic and Apple began on August 13, when Epic announced a new in-app payment system for Fortnite that Apple’s 30 percent fee skirt – aftermath Fortnite “Mega drop.” Apple removed Fortnite of the App Store, and lists its long-standing rules for in-app purchases. Epic responded with an anti-trust case that sought to establish the App Store as a monopoly.
Apple responded Friday to Epic Games’ suit, asking a court to reject Epic’s motion. Apple claims that Epic created a false “need” by accepting direct payments Fortnite in violation of Apple’s rules. Epic, the court filed, asked for a special deal that Apple said would “fundamentally change the way Epic offers apps on Apple’s iOS platform.”
“Developers working to deceive Apple, as Epic has done here, have stopped,” the court submission states, adding that if developers find ways to prevent their digital cash, as Epic did, “it is the same as if a customer runs an Apple store without paying for a retail product: Apple does not get paid. ”
