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Epic / Fortnite
Epic published a defiant video about his fight against Apple
Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed a fresh lawsuit against Apple over its ongoing dispute with the technology giant over its App Store policy.
Apple removed Fortnite from the store after the game offered a discount on its virtual currency for purchases made outside the app, of which Apple receives a 30% discount.
Epic says the compensation is unfair.
And now, it says, Apple has threatened to remove it from its developer program, on August 28th.
With this, it would not be able to offer any other games or apps on Apple platforms.
Only in-app purchase offers are a requirement to be in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store – and both companies take the same percentage of sales.
Following the reversal of the rule, Fortnite was removed from both stores last week. It has filed separate legal complaints against them.
Existing Fortnite players on these platforms (for example, iPhone and Android phones) still have the game, but are not currently able to get updates, which are regularly released elsewhere.
New players can not download it.
Apple has given Epic two weeks to reinstall the payments in-app if it wants Fortnite to return to the store.
- Fortnite submits to Google if bans intensify
- Fortnite filed Apple over ban on App Store
In its latest legal papers, Epic says it will be “irreparably damaged” by completely removing Apple’s developer program.
The ban would also include its Unreal Engine, a popular graphics tool widely used by third-party developers of other games, movies and virtual reality – meaning they would have to find an alternative tool as well.
‘No exception’
In a statement, Apple said the rules apply to every app in the store and Epic had created the problem for itself by choosing to break the terms.
“We will not make an exception for Epic because we do not think it is right to put their business interests first for the guidelines that protect our customers,” it said.
Epic accused Apple of operating “a complete monopoly” over the one billion users of its operating system, which supports all Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Macbook.
Apple responded that Epic itself had profited from the App Store and had “grown into a multibillion dollar company”.
Epic is not the first developer to have issues with the App Store’s fee structure, though it may be the largest.
In June, an email app called Hey also took a stand.
“If we do not like the deal that Apple is offering us – that is, to pay them 30% or step out – what are we going to do about it? Where are we going?” developer David Heinemeier Hansson told BBC News at the time.
“If you launch a new piece of software today and you are not available on the iPhone, then you are invisible.”
The EU is investigating whether the terms of Apple’s App Store violate its competition rules.
And last month, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook appeared before the Sub-Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee in the U.S., alongside opposition from Amazon, Facebook and Google.
They all faced claims that they were abusing their market leading positions.
