Epic isn't planning on making changes to return 'Fortnite' to the App Store

Posted:
in General Discussion
Epic Games has confirmed that the upcoming season of "Fortnite" will not be available on iOS or macOS devices, suggesting that the company will continue to refuse to comply with Apple guidelines for the foreseeable future.


"Fortnite" being played on an iPhone. Credit: AppleInsider

The news follows a court decision
denying Epic's call for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would restore "Fortnite" to the App Store. In the ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said that Epic was not suffering irreparable harm and added that the situation seemed like one of its own making.

In an update to a "Fortnite" FAQ on Wednesday, Epic Games said that the season update would not be available on iPhone, iPad or Mac on the Aug. 27 date.

The "Fortnite" maker says that Apple is "blocking Fortnite updates and new installs on the App Store," which is true. Epic does not mention that "Fortnite" was only removed from the App Store after it baited Apple into doing so.

At a hearing on the TRO Monday, Judge Rogers said that Epic could remove the direct payment system that it had implemented in violation of Apple's developer guidelines and "return to the status quo." The FAQ update on Wednesday confirms that Epic Games won't make the necessary changes to allow "Fortnite" to return to the App Store.

The implementation of the direct payment system was a strategic move on Epic's part to protest Apple's 15% to 30% cut of in-app purchases. Shortly after "Fortnite" was removed from the App Store, Epic Games filed an antitrust lawsuit and launched a marketing campaign alleging monopolistic behavior from Apple.

Apple, for its part, applauded Judge Rogers' decision on Tuesday, and said it would "gladly" restore "Fortnite" to the App Store if the infringing feature was removed from the app.

Our very first priority is making sure App Store users have a great experience in a safe and trusted environment, including iPhone users who play 'Fortnite' and who are looking forward to the game's next season," Apple said.

At Monday's hearing, Judge Rogers said that she was not inclined to issue a TRO for the "Fortnite" itself. But, she did issue protections that bar Apple from taking "retaliatory" measures against Epic Games property Unreal Engine, which is managed through a different developer account and business entity than "Fortnite."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    pulseimagesmagman1979ronnwilliamlondonBeatsjony0aderutteragilealtitudeGilliam_Bateswatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 40
    Apple is not going to gain any additional customers with this.
    edited August 2020 lkruppflyingdpwilliamlondon
  • Reply 3 of 40
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,145member
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Epic has their own (inferior) competitor to Steam. Lousy search functions, many other problems. Their only plus: lower pricing occasionally.

    That's likely their end goal here, too.
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 40
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,455member
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Whatever Apple's cut is to be in the future, it will be determined by legislation and/or regulation in response to the anti-trust lawsuit, so Epic's actions today are absolutely pointless, but oh so heroic, as befits gaming.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 40
    Apple is not going to gain any additional customers with this.
    --Apple is not going to lose any customers because of this. FORTNITE is a game for goodness sake. Kids will find their dopamine hits in some other platform. EPIC has played this like a David facing Goliath...without the right kind of sling for the rocks they chose. Apple is far from perfect, but they have a system, it works and EPIC signed on to rules as established...then wanted to change those rules once admitted. If I were on EPIC's board, i would be seriously considering firing the CEO and the entire management team.
    tmaypulseimagesmwhitemagman1979flyingdpronnwilliamlondonRayz2016thtdewme
  • Reply 6 of 40
    stevenozstevenoz Posts: 318member
    I feel safer buying my apps through Apple's App Store. Then I presume that they've been vetted (at least somewhat)... and that takes money for the effort. Plus, the convenience and security of the Apple's App Store, in addition to their app-upgrading mechanism, make it my go-to place for Mac and iOS software.

    I trust Apple; I don't trust Epic.
    edited August 2020 tmaypulseimagesmagman1979viclauyycronnwilliamlondonRayz2016jony0aderutterGaby
  • Reply 7 of 40
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Apple's walled garden should continue to exist for the people who want it - all other should have the choice to buy from another app store !
    mwhitewilliamlondoncropr
  • Reply 8 of 40
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,762member
    xyzzy-xxx said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Apple's walled garden should continue to exist for the people who want it - all other should have the choice to buy from another app store !
    And by doing so, forfeit any warranty whatsoever on their device
    tmaymagman1979flyingdpronnBeatscescojony0GabyDancingMonkeyswatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 40
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    xyzzy-xxx said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Apple's walled garden should continue to exist for the people who want it - all other should have the choice to buy from another app store !

    That's a moronic declaration. Apple isn't catering to your `perceived rights' it is designing and developing solutions for their platforms to best serve and protect the data its customers expect to be protected. You have no `perceived rights' to how Apple should meet your wishes. If you have expectations in a platform then go use the one that meets your expectations. This Libertarian philosophy of I'll manage my system doesn't fly--it's not your system. You don't own the OS. Go install Linux. Apple has large contracts with corporations who pay for features that include security across the entire platform(s). Those contractual agreements benefit consumers by having those same features FOR FREE. You don't pay for OS X. Suck it up.
    magman1979tmayflyingdpGG1ronnBeatsRayz2016thtmike1mac_dog
  • Reply 10 of 40
    Apple is not going to gain any additional customers with this.
    Seriously? A silly kids game is not going ruin the reputation of Apple. Epic needs Apple not the other way around. Soon some other game fad will command children’s attention away from Fortnite. I feel safer buying apps from the Apple App Store than I ever did from the Google Play Store, it’s like the Wild West over there! 
    tmayflyingdpronnwilliamlondonRayz2016jony0Gabywatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 40
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,927member
    tmay said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Whatever Apple's cut is to be in the future, it will be determined by legislation and/or regulation in response to the anti-trust lawsuit, so Epic's actions today are absolutely pointless, but oh so heroic, as befits gaming.
    It won’t. Apple doesn’t have a monopoly. No one is forced to buy an iPhone. No one is forced to develop for iOS. There are a lot of cheap phones other than iPhone. 
    ronnSpamSandwichjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 40
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,923administrator
    jungmark said:
    tmay said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Whatever Apple's cut is to be in the future, it will be determined by legislation and/or regulation in response to the anti-trust lawsuit, so Epic's actions today are absolutely pointless, but oh so heroic, as befits gaming.
    It won’t. Apple doesn’t have a monopoly. No one is forced to buy an iPhone. No one is forced to develop for iOS. There are a lot of cheap phones other than iPhone. 
    In fact, Epic points out several alternatives to iPhones in the FAQ that said that the new season wasn't going to come to iOS or macOS.
    ronnBeatsthtdewmeSpamSandwichjony0beowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 40
    Bold move haha. Let’s see how well this works out for them. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 40
    On a personal level, I'm pretty thrilled about this. We caved and let my 12y.o. son play Fortnite this summer due to the quarantine/pandemic. I told him this was only until school starts. This will simplify ending that for us.
    viclauyycronnSpamSandwichjony0fluffheadwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 40
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Let me get this straight.

    Epic intentionally breaks the rules
    Gets banned
    Says it won't follow the rules.
    "NO! I don't wanna!"


    You dug your own grave.
    Rayz2016litoloopjony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 40
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    I wonder if the judiciary will canvas the actual, paying customers in is deliberations.  My takeaway from this is;

    1) 30% is fine.
    2) Apple doesn’t prevent store circumvention it just prevents the promotion in-app. Perhaps it should tighten that up.
    3) Other platforms demonstrate that opening the platform to other stores may lower store fees, it disadvantages the customers in almost every other way.

    Hopefully Justice will drop these actions.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 40
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Apple is not going to gain any additional customers with this.
    Seriously? A silly kids game is not going ruin the reputation of Apple. Epic needs Apple not the other way around. Soon some other game fad will command children’s attention away from Fortnite. I feel safer buying apps from the Apple App Store than I ever did from the Google Play Store, it’s like the Wild West over there! 

    I can't believe I recommended Apple TV run Fortnite to get the ball rolling for Apple TV gaming. What a scum company.

    The problem is, Apple didn't take gaming seriously and now that one of their biggest games is leaving the App Store it's biting them in the ass. Had Apple had AAA first party exclusives ready, if Apple Arcade was better than Fortnite and had great competitive online games like I've been suggesting for a year, then very little gamers would care. Non-gamers won't notice a difference(duh) but this WILL affect gamers whether you're a Fortnite fan or not.
  • Reply 18 of 40
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,455member
    jungmark said:
    tmay said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Whatever Apple's cut is to be in the future, it will be determined by legislation and/or regulation in response to the anti-trust lawsuit, so Epic's actions today are absolutely pointless, but oh so heroic, as befits gaming.
    It won’t. Apple doesn’t have a monopoly. No one is forced to buy an iPhone. No one is forced to develop for iOS. There are a lot of cheap phones other than iPhone. 
    I'm projecting what I think will be the worst case, but more importantly, I doubt that Apple will take much of a hit anyway, as a lower rate will just draw in even more developers, and likely some higher quality games as well.
  • Reply 19 of 40
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    auxio said:
    xyzzy-xxx said:
    Bye Bye Epic!  Seriously hope they lose.  I've said it many times, I know Apple isn't perfect, but their walled garden helps keep by stuff secure. Epic (and others) just wants to burn that down.  I'd be welcome to Apple dropping their cut, but I still think they deserve their fair share.
    Apple's walled garden should continue to exist for the people who want it - all other should have the choice to buy from another app store !
    And by doing so, forfeit any warranty whatsoever on their device
    Agreed. 
    jony0watto_cobraDetnator
  • Reply 20 of 40
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,233member
    Dumb move, all because of a bruised ego of Epic's majority owner.
    Epic is effectively abandoning suing for damages, because (1) this is self-imposed damage; and (2) we'll never know how much Epic could have sold through iOS and Apple's cut.
    watto_cobra
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