Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Fortnite Maker Sues Apple and Google Over App Store Dispute

The Epic Games Inc. Fortnite: Battle Royale video game is displayed for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPhone in Washington, D.C., U.S.

Apple Inc. and Google removed Fortnite from their app stores on Thursday, prompting lawsuits by the game’s creator, Epic Games Inc. The moves escalate a dispute between the companies that had been brewing in recent weeks.

The disagreement stems from a longstanding Apple App Store rule saying most apps must offer billing through Apple and pay the company 30% of revenue. On Thursday morning, Epic began offering customers a way to directly buy items for Fortnite and circumvent the fees. Hours later, Apple pulled the app, and Google followed suit later in the day.

Apple said in an emailed statement it removed Fortnite because Epic’s changes had the “express intent of violating the App Store guidelines.” Apple said its store helped enable Epic’s success over the last decade and that it offers a “level playing field” for businesses. Google issued a similar statement but noted that Android allows for multiple app stores, unlike the iPhone.

Epic filed a lawsuit in a California district court, alleging that Apple’s stranglehold on its app store and related customer payments is anti-competitive. Epic said it isn’t seeking money but for Apple’s practices to be stopped. If not for Apple’s “illegal restraints,” Epic would provide a competing app store on Apple devices, according to the lawsuit. It filed a complaint against Google hours later, accusing the search giant of anticompetitive behavior.

Fortnite, Epic’s flagship game, is a cultural phenomenon. The game has had more than 350 million players over the years, the lawsuit said. The game’s removal from the App Store means losing access to more than a billion iPhone and iPad customers. Sales through Apple’s store generated $32.8 billion for developers in the first half of 2020, up more than 20% from a year earlier, according to market research firm Sensor Tower.

Grievances over the fees Apple charges developers have reached a boiling point. For years, developers have complained about Apple’s 15% to 30% fees for the App Store, and Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook was recently grilled over the issue at a U.S. Congressional hearing alongside other technology chiefs. Apple is also facing scrutiny from officials in Europe over antitrust complaints, an investigation that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has openly supported. Spotify Technology SA, which has waged a similar battle with Apple, said in a statement it supports Epic’s crusade.

Sweeney has also criticized Google, which maintains a similar policy as Apple. He described the two companies as a duopoly in an interview with Bloomberg Television last month.

Epic told customers on Thursday it would begin offering a direct purchase plan for items in Fortnite and that instead of paying fees to Apple and Google, it would pass on the savings to customers. Epic offered discounts of as much as 20% through its service. Google said in an emailed statement the move violated its store policies but that Fortnite is still available through other means on Android.

Epic’s lawsuit against Apple invokes George Orwell’s “1984.” Shortly after Fortnite was pulled, the game’s official Twitter account promoted a new video short called Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite, a cheeky shot at a famous Apple advertising campaign.

The Apple case is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., 20-cv-05640, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.