Threat of Apple Inc. to the developer account of Epic Games Inc. to withdraw would have far-reaching effects detrimental to the video game industry, said Microsoft Corp. in a court filed Sunday.
Epic’s new submission comes amid a tense showdown with Apple’s AAPL,
, which removed Epic video games, such as the hugely popular “Fortnite,” from the App Store for violating its payment rules.
Epic claimed that Apple’s threat to block its developer account as well would prevent other game developers from using its widely used Unreal Engine, which is used in the creation of 3-D graphics, and detrimental to “a number of third-party developers. “
Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s MSFT,
general manager for Gaming Developer Experiences, agreed in a statement of support, saying that the ban would place Apple developers using the Unreal Engine “at a substantial disadvantage” because “there are very few others options available. “
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“If Unreal Engine could not support games for iOS like macOS, Microsoft would have to choose between leaving its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing new games to develop, ”Gammill said. “Stopping Apple from Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS as well as macOS will hurt game makers and gamers.”
Apple has said it will restore “Fortnite” and leave Epic’s developer account only if the company reverses its course and follows the App Store’s payment rules. In a submission Friday, Apple called the impact on Epic a ‘self-inflicted’ win, accusing it of deliberately breaking its breach after years of ‘profiting from everything Apple’s App Store has to offer.’
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