Fortnite owner Epic Games is suing Apple and Google after the famous video game was removed from Apple’s App Store due to a dispute over the payment method.
The game was removed from the virtual market on Thursday after developers added a new way for users to buy extras.
The new approach allows users to avoid Apple’s integrated payment procedure and purchase extras directly from the app at a discounted price. Using Apple’s internal formula provides Apple with 30% of the acquisition and the app owner for the remaining 70%. This new payment method allows Epic Games to skip this transaction and one hundred percent of the winnings.
The gaming corporation notes that other apps on Apple devices, such as Uber, DoorDash, and Amazon, use internal payment systems. They can avoid the source of income distribution.
“It’s transparent that Apple and Google recognize that third-party payment facilities are appropriate for goods and facilities,” Epic Games said in a blog post Thursday. “Epic Direct Payment offers players the same types of paid features as those other apps.”
Epic Games is requesting the U.S. District Court. For the Northern District of California that takes into account “a court order prohibiting Apple’s anti-competitive habit and instructing Apple to take all mandatory steps to prevent any unlawful conduct and regulatory retaliation” and to grant “that the contract and policy restrictions referred to herein are illegal and unenforceable”.
In its opposite lawsuit against Google, Epic Games claims that the tech giant abandons its slogan “don’t be bad.”
“In 1998, Google was founded as a new company with an exclusive motto: “Don’t be evil,” said a copy of the lawsuit, received through CNET.” Twenty-two years later, Google has almost relegated its currency after the fact and is severing its time to harm its competitors, innovators, consumers and users in a multitude of markets it has monopolized.”
In a message to The Verge before the test was announced, Apple wrote, “Today, Epic Games had the misfortune of violating App Store rules that are implemented in the same way for all developers and are designed to ensure some in-store safety for our users.”
Apple added that Epic has benefited greatly from the App Store ecosystem, adding its tools and distribution to developers. The company also stated that Epic had freely accepted the terms and rules of the App Store.
“The fact that their business interests now drive them to a special arrangement does not replace the fact that those rules create a game box of points for all developers and make the store safe for all users,” Apple said. “We will do everything we can to work with Epic on those violations so that they can return Fortnite to the App Store.”
A Google spokesman said he had removed Fortnite on Play because he violated his policies, but that the company may have conversations with Epic to verify and retrieve it.
“While Fortnite is still available on Android, we can no longer do it on Play because it violates our policies,” the spokesman said. “However, we looked forward to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”