Epic Games has released a new short film premiere called Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite that lasts less than a minute and says it has “trodden the App Store monopoly.” The video was shown in Fortnite’s Party Royale mode shortly after Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple. The lawsuit came in response to the App Store removing Fortnite after Epic Games introduced a new direct payment method that outlined the App Store’s guidelines. Although most of Epic Games’ energy was spent attacking Apple, Fortnite was also banned from the Google Play Store shortly after it was banned from the App Store. Unlike on iOS, however, Android users can download apps from other storefronts. The situation shows little sign of a conclusion. In fact, even Facebook has criticized Apple in the wake of the removal.
“In fee, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices,” the screen read during the briefing. “Join the fight to stop 2020 from ‘1984.” Viewers were then encouraged to use a #FreeFortnite hashtag on social media to encourage Apple – which says it will work with Epic to get the game back to the App Store– to change their policies.
The commercial turned out to be a play on Apple’s Macintosh commercial that was released in 1984. That commercial personally introduced the Apple Macintosh to the world and claimed that it would help people realize why “1984 is not like” 1984 ” will be, “referring to the famous George Orwell novel. Epic Games clearly mocked Apple for its policies in the App Store.
Earlier today, Epic Games reduced the cost of V-Bucks in the App Store and introduced direct payments to pay Apple for the use of its storefront, causing the game to be removed from the store by the tech giant. Epic hit back through a lawsuit filed against the company for the “exorbitant” 30% cut that Apple is taking among other things from App Store purchases. This short premiere shortly thereafter, coupled with the pressure for a social media campaign that put Apple under pressure. Given the rapid turnaround on the lawsuit and this video, it’s clear that Epic knew how Apple would react to the introduction of direct payments within Fortnite and was ready to respond when the game was removed.
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