Epic Games, the developer of the hit game "Fortnite" with around 350 million players worldwide, has declared war on Apple and Google by introducing a new feature to purchase character costumes and weapons at discounted prices, offering players a 20 percent discount on in-game currency if they pay Epic directly. Just hours after the new payment option, which bypasses Apple's strict split model, hit the shelves, Apple removed Fortnite, a game from the App Store, because the company had violated the software distribution platform's rules.
As a world-renowned game developer, Epic's move was seen not only as a monopoly protest against Apple's mandatory App Store draw, but also as a practical act of defiance against Apple's mandatory draw. Shortly after Fortnite's shelving, Epic launched a massive social media campaign with the hashtag "#FreeFortnite" and also filed a 62-page complaint against Apple.
Apple and Google have long taken a 30 percent cut of mobile app sales, and of course this draw percentage has drawn the ire of almost every developer, with even Phillip Shoemaker, the former head of Apple's App Store, saying that 30 percent draw is too high, and that Apple's current size seems more appropriate to align itself with credit card fees. For Apple, the 30 percent draw fee has become an important profit driver for its software services industry, and at Apple's current size, it comes at virtually no cost to the company.
Apple has stated that it very much wants Epic to remain on the App Store as a platform, and that the problem, which was created by Epic itself, can easily be remedied with the current shelving of Fortnite, with Epic only needing to make minor changes in the app (removing Epic's own payment options) and continuing to follow the App Store platform's guidelines and policies in order to remain on the App Store again.
Likewise, Apple has made its position clear that even though Epic generates huge profits for Apple every year and has a huge customer base around the world, Apple will not make an exception for Epic without following the existing guidelines of the App Store.
Apple's last few public responses since the removal of Fortnite from the App Store have all reflected its forcefulness, as have Apple's previous statements when it was subjected to antitrust hearings in Congress. Whether it's the antitrust hearings or the removal of Fortnite, Apple is still the same Apple and will not compromise for its own interests.
On Monday, Apple renewed pressure on Epic, and in addition to removing Fortnite from the shelves, Apple said it was going to disable Epic's developer account entirely.
Epic Games said today that Apple plans to terminate Epic Games' full access to its app store and app development tools on Aug. 28, including the necessary development tools Epic can use to provide Unreal Engine software for Epic to third-party game developers. In response, Epic has filed a court order asking a Northern California court to prevent Apple from removing Epic's AppStore access.
Completely disabling Epic's developer accounts will result in Epic not being able to continue to update the Unreal Engine for iOS and macOS in the future, forcing a halt to the Unreal Engine on iOS and macOS, and making it more difficult for other game developers using the Unreal Engine to maintain development of their games.
Considering the amount of money Epic brings to Apple every year, and the fact that other third-party game makers use Unreal Engine, disabling Epic would cost Apple a significant amount of revenue at little or no cost to Apple, and Epic would face even greater losses in this conflict.