The long-running spat between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games has reached a new chapter following Apple’s cancellation of Epic’s developer account.
In January, Apple outlined plans to let third parties create their app stores for European iPhone and iPad users following an EU ruling. However, this latest move stops Epic Games from doing just that.
Apple claims Epic Games is “verifiably untrustworthy,” citing the company’s previous behaviour and statements made by its CEO Tim Sweeney.
The cancellation of the publisher’s account was announced on Epic Games’s blog.
“We recently announced that Apple approved our Epic Games Sweden AB developer account. We intended to use that account to bring the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to iOS devices in Europe thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA),” the statement reads.
The DMA is the piece of EU legislation that forces Apple’s hand, to make third-party app stores on iPhones and iPads possible.
“To our surprise, Apple has terminated that account and now we cannot develop the Epic Games Store for iOS. This is a serious violation of the DMA and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices,” reads Epic’s website.
Apple responded in a statement to the Evening Standard.
“Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.’ In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right,” it said.
Epic Games has also published its correspondence with Apple executives, including an email from Phil Schiller. He is a long-standing Apple executive often seen at big Apple launches. He is described as an Apple Fellow “responsible for leading the App Store and Apple Events”.
“We invite you to provide us with written assurance that you are also acting in good faith, and that Epic Games Sweden will, despite your public actions and rhetoric, honor all of its commitments. In plain, unqualified terms, please tell us why we should trust Epic this time,” Schiller wrote to Tim Sweeney, according to Epic Games’s published documents.
Schiller here is, at least in part, referring to Epic Games’s previous attempts to circumvent Apple’s payments system. This results in at least a 30 per cut going to Apple.
Epic Games added third-party payment support to the Fortnite app in 2020, causing Apple to boot the hugely popular game from the App Store.
The same happened on Android’s Google Play, but Fortnite has been playable on Android phones since thanks to a process called sideloading. This is where apps not downloaded through the Google Play app store are installed on Android devices.
While Epic Games has in the past broken rules established by platform holders such as Apple, this latest move could potentially lead to big fines for Apple.
On March 4, Apple was fined £1.5 billion following an EU investigation. This concluded that it had suppressed music streaming service competition, favouring its own Apple Music over rivals including Spotify.
However this long-running fight pans out, there’s still little hope for UK gamers being able to play Fortnite natively on iPhones and iPads. The EU’s ruling that third-party app stores should be allowed on iOS does not extend to the UK.
The Standard has reached out to Apple and Epic Games for comment.
