Apple pulls Fortnite from App Store for sidestepping commission fee [ux2]
Popular battle royale game Fortnite has been removed from the App Store after the company violated Apple's decade-old guidelines.

On Thursday, Epic announced that they would allow iOS and Android customers to purchase in-game Fortnite items and V-bucks directly, rather than paying through Apple as an in-app purchase.
They further incentivized customers to pay them directly by offering discounts up to 20 percent for those who did not buy through Apple. The move allowed Epic to sidestep Apple's 30 percent commission fee.
Less than eight hours after the announcement, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, citing that Epic had violated the decade-old App Store terms and conditions. Apple has issued a statement regarding the situation.
Companies like Epic and Apple Music rival Spotify are not the only ones concerned about Apple's App Store practices. The U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general begun launching an antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store after developers continue to raise concerns over anticompetitive behavior.
In June, the European Union antitrust authorities officially launched two investigations into Apple, specifically surrounding the App Store and with Apple Pay.
Update: In response to Fortnite being removed from the App Store, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of unfair business practices.
Update 2: Google on Thursday followed Apple's lead and booted Fortnite off the Play Store for violating policies related to in-app payments. The Android version of the game is still available for download from Epic and other outlets. Epic has not responded to Google's decision.

On Thursday, Epic announced that they would allow iOS and Android customers to purchase in-game Fortnite items and V-bucks directly, rather than paying through Apple as an in-app purchase.
They further incentivized customers to pay them directly by offering discounts up to 20 percent for those who did not buy through Apple. The move allowed Epic to sidestep Apple's 30 percent commission fee.
Less than eight hours after the announcement, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, citing that Epic had violated the decade-old App Store terms and conditions. Apple has issued a statement regarding the situation.
The statement continues:"Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services."
Epic has long been critical of Apple's 30 percent digital commission fee, calling it an "absolute monopoly.""Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including it's (sic) tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we're glad they've built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store."
Companies like Epic and Apple Music rival Spotify are not the only ones concerned about Apple's App Store practices. The U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general begun launching an antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store after developers continue to raise concerns over anticompetitive behavior.
In June, the European Union antitrust authorities officially launched two investigations into Apple, specifically surrounding the App Store and with Apple Pay.
Update: In response to Fortnite being removed from the App Store, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of unfair business practices.
Update 2: Google on Thursday followed Apple's lead and booted Fortnite off the Play Store for violating policies related to in-app payments. The Android version of the game is still available for download from Epic and other outlets. Epic has not responded to Google's decision.
Comments
All the tenants are protesting for free rent. They're doing stupid sh**.
This is so stupid. Why should all developers demand their own terms on Apple's store?
I want this so bad. Developers are really poking a sleeping bear.
The House Hearings. I would guess that they're doing it for effect and know that they have no real court case.
And charge fees of $0.10 per download (including all updates) to help run the store, don't allow free apps and charge take 30% of the initial purchase price.
Developers aren't getting charged 30% for simply having their app on the app store. They're getting that for the entire ecosystem Apple built for them, tools, support systems, online store as a service and so on.
The reason Apple doesn't want to do that is because it kills innovation. It kills the small guys by putting a high bar in place to cover Apple's costs. Look at the before and after landscape. How many stories were there of high schoolers making a million dollars from their bedroom back when they had to pay vast sums for development tools, negotiate with publishers (who were taking more than 30%) and fight for shelf space at retailers (who were taking more than 30%)? In round numbers, 0.
Epic can die in a fire for all I care. All the developers who work there have profited immensely from what Apple has done for the software industry and now they want to either force Apple to give everything away or recoup their costs in the only other way and kill opportunity for those who come behind them? Disgraceful.
When are people going to realize this isn’t about reducing the cost to consumers, this is about getting as much money out of consumers as they possibly can. Epic and the other companies that are protesting the “Apple Tax” aren’t trying to eliminate or even reduce the cost of being in the App Store for themselves. What they are trying to do is force Apple, either through their own decision, through the courts, or through legislation, to change the way they charge developers for being in the App Store. They want to do away with the competition from free apps. They want Apple to change to an approach where any developer that wants to put an app in the App Store has to pay for it, which in turn will eliminate almost all free apps and almost all developers they may have to compete with. Or better yet, they want to force Apple to allow, or be force to allow, alternate App Stores on every single IOS device so they can stop having to live with the privacy restrictions Apple forces on them. Then they can get to what they really want, harvesting user data so they can make the user what they think all users should be – the product rather than the customer.
Wow they wanna eliminate free apps? Sounds anti-competitive to me.
Is Apple's 30% fee fair? Apple provides all the tools and services to all developers for a tiny sign up fee. Plus Apple provides provides security and privacy for both consumers and developers. For developers, they offer some protection against copy cats. The BIGGEST benefit for Apple developers is access to the BEST demographic in purchasing power to all developers - it's 5th avenue, Knightsbridge.