Epic’s latest submission in the fight against the App Store is aimed at Apple’s statement that it will follow the policy and end Epic’s developer account on August 28th. As noted by The Verge, Epic gives several reasons why Apple should not do this, noting the wide-ranging impact it has on the ecosystem of games that depend on the framework of Unreal Engine .
Microsoft has a submit supervisor which describes the impact on their Unreal Engine business. The statement said that “stopping Apple from using Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS as well as macOS will hurt game makers and gamers”.
It all started when Epic added a direct payment feature to Fortnite that blatantly wrote Apple’s rules. In response, Apple quickly removed the game from the App Store. Epic has also filed a lawsuit claiming that Apple’s App Store rules are monopolistic and unfair, which Apple naturally disputes.
While the game is now unlisted, Fortnite remains installed on millions of devices, with the direct payment feature active. Apple says this persistent violation of its policy cannot continue and has informed Epic that it will terminate its developer account on August 28, as per the rules of being an Apple registered developer.
Assuming that happens later this week, Epic Fortnite will no longer be able to update with new content and it will no longer be able to maintain and update the Unreal Engine on Apple’s platforms. This has far-reaching implications for the entire gaming industry. Apple says Epic is free to sue the App Store’s terms in court, and its developer account can be restored once the direct payment feature is removed.
Epic’s submission on Sunday specifically targets the Unreal Engine, and it wants an announcement to stop Apple from moving forward. One of Epic’s arguments is that Epic broke only one of Apple’s agreements, and it does not apply to the agreement that includes Epic’s use of Apple’s developer tools to create the Unreal Engine.
Epic also says it has six separate developer accounts. It claims that the accounts managed by Fortnite and Unreal Engine are completely separate, and Apple should only be allowed to terminate the Fortnite account, leaving Unreal untouched. Apple says Epic treats these accounts “as if they were one”. It’s also related to the ‘broad damage’ argument, as shown in the associated Microsoft submission.
Whether Epic can get an order imposed this week remains unclear. A hearing is currently scheduled for later today on the question of whether Apple will be required to put Fortnite back in the App Store.
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