The App Store contract is illegal, claims Epic Games



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Epic Games has stepped up its rhetoric against Apple, claiming that the App Store contract is illegal and that Apple’s view of what is reasonable is “crazy and wrong.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney yesterday tweeted your opinion on the dispute …

What is most disturbing about Apple’s position is that they seem to truly believe that they “own” all the trade that involves the phones they make, characterizing direct payment as theft, smuggling and even shoplifting. It’s a crazy wrong sight […]

The fact that Apple sold a phone does not give them the right to tax and control the person who bought the phone.

However, not everyone who responded to the tweet was buying Epic’s stance.

“It’s also crazy that you get a chance to bring Fortnite back and continue the fight and you said no”

“This is exactly how countries and taxes work. It is your platform. Having an iPhone is not a fundamental human right or utility. Basically, you want to extract value from the platform without giving anything in return. “

“Well, they have been the business models of game consoles for what? 35 years? Some platforms are open (Windows, macOS), others are closed (game consoles, iOS) and you need an agreement with the owner of the platform to be able to develop them. Nothing new or particularly scandalous. “

TechCrunch reports that the company’s attorneys go even further, claiming that Apple is breaking the law.

“When Epic took steps to allow iOS device consumers to make those payments directly, it violated some of the contractual restrictions that Apple imposes on iOS developers,” the attorneys wrote. “Epic did it because those contractual restrictions are illegal. Epic decided to oppose Apple’s monopoly to illustrate that competition could exist on iOS and that consumers would welcome and benefit from it. Epic did so without warning Apple because otherwise Apple would have used its monopoly control to prevent such competition from occurring. “

Facebook Gaming has taken a more diplomatic tone, Business Insider quoting an executive saying a change is needed.

Facebook had been through a painful process of trying and failing to get Apple to allow the standalone Facebook Gaming app on its store since February. That dispute resulted in Facebook Gaming being rejected at least six times on the App Store. Facebook successfully launched the iOS app in August, but without any games.

Jason Rubin, vice president of special gaming initiatives at Facebook, told Business Insider that Apple’s dispute was “frustrating”, adding: “The industry needs this to happen.”

“We would like us to do it as soon as possible, I think consumers would like us to do it as soon as possible,” he said. “We’re working hard to bring our games to iOS … It’s frustrating for us, but it’s the kind of world we’re in, unfortunately.”

Apple faces a growing number of antitrust investigations around the world, most of them focused on the App Store.

Photo: Dezeen

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