I knew I had to be part of a master plan. Earlier in the day, Epic propelled Apple by allowing Fortnite players to decide to pay higher value for in-game microtransactions through Apple, or pay Epic directly for a discount. Although “sting” does not do justice, as it was an attempt to swing hay on the back of the head.
Epic has long criticized Apple’s inevitable 30% relief on all game gains on iOS, which they sought to discuss here. Apple responded, as expected and quickly, through absolutely Fortnite from the App Store after a few hours, claiming it violated its long-standing policies. Epic retaliated almost without delay with a 61-page filing of a lawsuit they’re suing Apple.
You don’t want to read the 61 pages to perceive what Epic is doing here, and they’re not asking for money, just an “legislative intervention” opposed to Apple and potentially Google (it would be a separate repository if Google also removes Fortnite from Android) to dismantle that monopoly.
Epic claims that 30% relief is unreasonable and anti-competitive, pushes programs off the market due to the inevitable tax, and there is no other option to get their games on phones with Apple and Google iOS.
The main parallel they draw is between the cell phone and the PC, where Microsoft and Apple own the operating system, do not rate other people with 30% for everything a PC is bought.
“Compare this anti-competitive prejudice with the functioning of similar markets on Apple’s own Mac computers. Mac users can download virtually any software they want, from any source of their choice. Developers are free to offer their programs through the Mac Computer App Store, a third-party store, by directly downloading from the developer’s website, or any combination of them. In fact, on Mac, Epic distributes Fortnite through its own storefront, which competes with other third-party presentations for Mac users. App Developers may not use Apple’s payment procedure facilities, third-party payment procedure installations, or the developer payment procedure. Users can choose from other payment procedure features (for example, PayPal, Amazon, and Apple). The result is that consumers and developers have options, festival is flourishing, costs are falling and innovation has been improved. The procedure will be no other for Apple mobile devices. »
Although there are retail PC game outlets (Epic has already attacked Steam and its 30% reduction%), there are alternatives, adding the Epic launcher or individual corporate launchers, to avoid this 30% discount. Apple doesn’t offer that alternative. It’s the App Store, or nothing.
Since most Fortnite players would possibly not read a dry legal writing, Epic explained it on a metaverse occasion in the game called 198-Fortnite, a reference to Apple’s featured ad (which most players are too young to have seen). It’s below, and you can see that they’re looking to win this war on several fronts, not only legally, but also in the hearts and minds of the players.
There’s a clock ticking. In two weeks, Fortnite’s season ends. Fortnite on iOS will not be able to launch the new season with the same previous solution because … is outside the App Store. And now it’s possible that millions and millions of iOS players won’t be able to play the game. This is your public pressure angle.
And of course, all of this comes after Tim Cook has already been (virtually) transported to Congress to testify of the 30% reduction. While Apple may lose Fortnite, it’s about drawing more attention to its monopoly and adopting change. Actually, it’s crazy to see a company move on to a rival and sacrifice its own business to present a dramatic argument. No matter what you think of Fortnite as a game or a pop culture trend, it’s an incredibly vital story for the entire virtual ecosystem. More to come, adding Google’s reaction to the same situation, which will be equally essential.
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I write about video games, television and the Internet.