The lawsuit and conflict between Apple and Epic Games has stirred up quite a storm in the gaming industry as well as the tech industry. It’s easy to get lost in the story, so we tried to write up a brief and chronological timeline to make everything a little easier to understand and follow.
Money talks
The whole conflict started with Epic Games reducing the price of V-Bucks, the currency used in their popular game Fortnite, when their preferred payment method was used. Through the ‘Epic Direct Payment’, players could get cheaper V-bucks, all while bypassing Apple and Google fees. Needless to say, the action immediately grabbed the attention of Apple and Google who would take action of their own.
The Fortnite Mega Drop lands today! Get up to 20% in savings on V-Bucks using select payment methods. This isn’t a short term sale…these are our new prices!
More info about availability in your currency and how it works in our blog: https://t.co/E5w29QvO6m
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 13, 2020
When it comes to in-app purchases Apple and Google also profit. They charge a fee (30% in most cases) when something is bought, with higher prices for the in-app purchases as a result. Something Epic Games wasn’t all that happy with as they found this fee to be too high. They showcased their price drop in a blog post on August 13 and, according to them, took the necessary steps for the community.
Initial retaliation by Apple and Google
The first instinct and reaction of Apple was the complete removal of the Fortnite app from the App Store, making it impossible for new players to download the app. People who already had the app installed were still able to play. Apple also released a statement regarding the situation saying that Epic Games’ actions were “against Terms of Service”. According to Apple, these Terms of Service serve to create an equal playing field for all developers.
Google also followed suit, albeit a bit later than Apple, by removing the Fortnite app from the Google Play Store even though Fortnite remained available on Android (through other Android stores). Google opened the door for discussion with Epic Games through a statement to The Verge, saying “we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.”
Epic hits back at Apple
After Apple removed the Fortnite app from the App Store, Epic Games released an in-game event with a parody of an Apple commercial from 1984. In the video Epic Games talks about how they went against the Apple Store, leading to Fortnite being removed by Apple, and asks people to join “join the fight” ending with the hashtag ‘#FreeFortnite’.
Epic Games would also go on to file an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in an attempt to disrupt and possibly fundamentally change the mobile gaming market.
Unreal Engine woes, Microsoft speaks out
Apple released another statement a few days after removing the Fortnite app from their App Store, saying they’ll be denying Epic Games’ developer access. This led to Epic Games quickly retaliating with a court request to block this from happening, as the action would result in Epic Games being unable to test and update their games. They also said it would hurt development of Unreal Engine, which is developed by Epic Games themselves and utilized by a lot of different games.
Microsoft also chimed in and spoke in support of Epic Games with a statement of their own. They said that not allowing Epic Games to work through Unreal Engine on Apple devices would cause irreparable harm not only to gamers but to other game developers as well. It would force other games to work through different engines, forcing them to essentially almost recreate the game and recode it. According to Microsoft, this process would also harm them and other game developers.
Epic denied but Unreal Engine stays
A judge ruled that Unreal Engine has to stay accessible for all apps in the App Store on August 25 but did deny Epic Games’ request to force Apple to reinstate Fortnite in the store. The ruling is part of the bigger antitrust motion that Epic Games filed against Apple, but is a temporary ruling that was made because of the possibly big financial implications for Epic Games and other game developers.
breaking: as expected, the Judge in Epic vs Apple has denied Epic’s motion to temporarily restore Fortnite to the app store, but has ordered Apple to not block Unreal Engine access
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 25, 2020
This ruling certainly isn’t the end of the road for both Apple and Epic Games, as antitrust cases such as this one could go on for multiple years before an official and final verdict is made. Stay tuned and keep an eye out for more updates here on esports.com.
What’s your opinion on this whole story? Join the discussion on Social Media or our Discord!
You can also help improve the website by sharing your feedback directly!