Epic Games seems to have abandoned Apple’s development on virtual reality platforms as part of its dispute with the iPhone maker.
The game studio recently implemented a direct payment system in an apparent attempt to lure Apple to remove Fortnite from the App Store. Apple did so, and in response, Epic filed a preparatory case accompanying on social media campaign.
On Monday, Epic Games said Apple is threatening further action – including cutting access to its developer accounts and tools. Epic also published a letter from Apple that appeared to contain a reference to VR systems.
As a result of terminating its developer accounts, Apple said Epic Games would lose access to “adoption and support of ARKit features and future VR features in Unreal Engine by its XR team,” among other possibilities.
Apple’s ARKit is a development framework that developers can use to create augmented reality apps for iPhones. But Apple has not yet targeted any kind of VR products as features for the public.
AR refers to augmented reality systems that overlap digital elements on top of a real environment, while VR is generally a fully virtualized environment typically used for gaming.
The Cupertino company is for the most part expected to debut an AR headset that acts as an accessory for an iPhone, perhaps under the moniker “Apple Glass”. But there have not been as many rumors pointing to an Apple VR-type product.
However, there are signs that Apple is developing some sort of VR system. A recently published patent application suggests that Apple is working on a non-transparent VR headset like “Apple Glass.” In May, the company launched VR-stream Streaming NextVR.
While the promise of an Apple VR solution is tempting, it is possible that the “VR features” mentioned in Apple’s letter may simply refer to existing partnerships with third-party VR companies such as HTC Vive Pro.
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