After a wild day of unexpected updates, discounts on V-Bucks, removal of app store, parody video cards, and legal action, the dust settled – and Fortnite remains missing in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Although recordings are still flying in now, and probably will not stop, as the game turns out to be for the foreseeable future, we have looked back at some of the community and pro reactions that happened in real time.
Before the ban
The first reactions from the community came shortly after the patch on Thursday morning, as fans were already trying to predict what the consequences of Epic’s new discount would be. While there were a few posters that had a good idea, one Reddit user really hit the nail on the head, just to suggest that Epic intended to take Apple.
The app store prohibits
By the time the game was actually removed from the App Store – which most people expected from the start – it seemed like many players jumped on board for the memes. When it was removed from the Play Store a few hours later, even fewer people were surprised.
The in-game card
The no. 1 comment on the video in the game “Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite” showed that players question what it was based on, when players – completely unprompted – declare that it was based on an Apple Super Bowl commercial from 1984.
On the other hand, more than a few players were just hyped for a fight:
Other Redditors were … more creative with their response:
Pro players and content creators
While some Fortnite pros are supporting Epic, others are not happy with the disruption for mobile players. One poster on the Fortnite Competitive subreddit took note of this by saying, “Feel that people are missing the point when a whole device cannot be used to play the game when season 4 launches.”
Meanwhile, other pro gamers are frustrated that Epic has chosen to use a promo hashtag for their own legal purposes, but often do not respond to community hashtags about the game, like #removethemech from several seasons ago.
Do not tweet “freefortnite” if they ignore it #removethemech be worldwide trending and still ignore any factual complaint about the game. They just want to change to keep more money, this is not an altruistic move
– FaZe Destiny (@DestinysJesus) August 14, 2020
Perma-banned former pro FaZe Jarvis took to Twitter for a bit of trolling:
Other Epic Allies
One proponent of Epic’s actions was none at all: it was Spotify. The streaming music giant has released a statement in support of Epic taking over Apple:
Spotify, which has a long-running battle with Apple and filed its own anti-trust complaint, is venturing into Epic v Apple. Spoiler: Spotify supports Epic. pic.twitter.com/FPNLmRNYBx
– Peter Kafka (@pkafka) August 13, 2020
Apple’s policy to take 30% of in-app purchases also affects Spotify, which is why Spotify allows users to sign in outside of the iOS app; the same goes for Netflix. Spotify accused Apple of anti-competitive practices in the EU just last year, and Epic publicly supported the company when the European Commission launched an investigation earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Tinder parent company Match Group has also expressed its support for Epic. While these are the two largest companies now coming up for drastic action from Epic, it is possible that more could participate in the future.
