Epic Games Store, 'Fortnite' submitted for EU notarization one more time

AppleInsider

Epic Games has submitted "Fortnite" and the Epic Games Store to Apple for final notarization, in one of the last steps Epic needs to take to launch its iOS storefront in Europe.

A 'Fortnite' character in a video used at the start of Epic's legal action against Apple.

Epic Games is getting extremely close to its final goal of opening up its rival to the App Store in Europe. Following its famed legal battle, Epic's now working on the final elements to bring its dream to a reality.

On Monday, Epic announced that it had made a number of submissions to Apple for "final notarization." The list of apps include the Epic Games Store, the company's attempt at a third-party digital storefront.

At the same time, it submitted two of its games for notarization. Fortnite, the game that triggered Epic's legal drama with payment method changes, is accompanied by Rocket League Sideswipe, a version of its car-soccer game.

Epic's announcement also asks followers to "Stay tuned for the launch of the Epic Games Store on iOS in Europe soon."

The notarization of the Epic Games Store hasn't been smooth sailing for all involved.

In July, Epic claimed Apple was dragging its heels over the Epic Games Store notarization, with Apple objecting to a few button designs in the app. Following the public complaint, Apple greenlit the Epic Games Store, adding that while it would let the buttons slide for the submission, Epic must fix them for future submissions.

While Epic will be offering Fortnite and Rocket League via its Epic Games Store, it won't be the only way to play the games. Epic is also planning to use other storefronts, including AltStore, to distribute Fortnite.



Read on AppleInsider

apple4thewin

Interesting 🤔 let’s see what stops them this time

danox

Sweeney Todd is going to poke the tiger……

hammeroftruth

That would be hilarious if they took all this time to make an alternative store and the general public moved on. I guess they’re going to find out how expensive it is to build and maintain an App Store and could end up like the Microsoft store when they thought they could copy Apple’s retail ideas and be successful. 

mpantone

hammeroftruth said:

That would be hilarious if they took all this time to make an alternative store and the general public moved on. I guess they’re going to find out how expensive it is to build and maintain an App Store and could end up like the Microsoft store when they thought they could copy Apple’s retail ideas and be successful. 

Uh, Epic already has a pretty good idea of how much effort it takes to run an app store: they have several on other platforms including Windows PC, macOS, and Android.

The main points of contention are A.) Apple's 30% cut on the iOS App Store and B.) the inability to offer third-party payment options to users. Everything goes through the iOS App Store and Apple takes their pound of flesh.

Presumably they are trying to release their own with payment options that allow them to dodge Apple's 30% cut, at least in the EU (per their DMA). It will be interesting to see if users in other markets will be able to transact on the Epic Games Store app with the 30% cut going back to Apple.

Other DMA related changes are also restricted to EU users. If an American goes on a two-week holiday to Europe and tries to take advantage of the DMA-enabled changes, it won't work, the payment information/billing address needs to be EU. There are always some dodgy or laborious ways to skirt these controls but the casual app shopper isn't going to go out of their way to do any of this just to save a few bucks or give the app store cut to Company B rather than Apple itself.

The DMA has been very disruptive to the iOS walled garden and not just to Epic Games. It appears that Apple Intelligence may end up being stunted in the EU. Currently there is no planned release date for Apple Intelligence in the EU. The day it releases it will likely be a US-only service. It will likely expand to other markets before it hits the EU (in whatever condition).

apple4thewin

hammeroftruth said:

That would be hilarious if they took all this time to make an alternative store and the general public moved on. I guess they’re going to find out how expensive it is to build and maintain an App Store and could end up like the Microsoft store when they thought they could copy Apple’s retail ideas and be successful. 

We will see how well this Disney collab goes but i know many players were leaving up until chapter 4 season 5/OG and then it went downhill again during this summer season. Since chapter 5 season 4 is a marvel themed season and will lead to the new Disney mode/world; hype may come back 

danox

mpantone said:

hammeroftruth said:

That would be hilarious if they took all this time to make an alternative store and the general public moved on. I guess they’re going to find out how expensive it is to build and maintain an App Store and could end up like the Microsoft store when they thought they could copy Apple’s retail ideas and be successful. 

Uh, Epic already has a pretty good idea of how much effort it takes to run an app store: they have several on other platforms including Windows PC, macOS, and Android.

The main points of contention are A.) Apple's 30% cut on the iOS App Store and B.) the inability to offer third-party payment options to users. Everything goes through the iOS App Store and Apple takes their pound of flesh.

Presumably they are trying to release their own with payment options that allow them to dodge Apple's 30% cut, at least in the EU (per their DMA). It will be interesting to see if users in other markets will be able to transact on the Epic Games Store app with the 30% cut going back to Apple.

Other DMA related changes are also restricted to EU users. If an American goes on a two-week holiday to Europe and tries to take advantage of the DMA-enabled changes, it won't work, the payment information/billing address needs to be EU. There are always some dodgy or laborious ways to skirt these controls but the casual app shopper isn't going to go out of their way to do any of this just to save a few bucks or give the app store cut to Company B rather than Apple itself.

The DMA has been very disruptive to the iOS walled garden and not just to Epic Games. It appears that Apple Intelligence may end up being stunted in the EU. Currently there is no planned release date for Apple Intelligence in the EU. The day it releases it will likely be a US-only service. It will likely expand to other markets before it hits the EU (in whatever condition).

The one on Android failed hence the lawsuit against Google.

mpantone

danox said:

mpantone said:

hammeroftruth said:

That would be hilarious if they took all this time to make an alternative store and the general public moved on. I guess they’re going to find out how expensive it is to build and maintain an App Store and could end up like the Microsoft store when they thought they could copy Apple’s retail ideas and be successful. 

Uh, Epic already has a pretty good idea of how much effort it takes to run an app store: they have several on other platforms including Windows PC, macOS, and Android.

The main points of contention are A.) Apple's 30% cut on the iOS App Store and B.) the inability to offer third-party payment options to users. Everything goes through the iOS App Store and Apple takes their pound of flesh.

Presumably they are trying to release their own with payment options that allow them to dodge Apple's 30% cut, at least in the EU (per their DMA). It will be interesting to see if users in other markets will be able to transact on the Epic Games Store app with the 30% cut going back to Apple.

Other DMA related changes are also restricted to EU users. If an American goes on a two-week holiday to Europe and tries to take advantage of the DMA-enabled changes, it won't work, the payment information/billing address needs to be EU. There are always some dodgy or laborious ways to skirt these controls but the casual app shopper isn't going to go out of their way to do any of this just to save a few bucks or give the app store cut to Company B rather than Apple itself.

The DMA has been very disruptive to the iOS walled garden and not just to Epic Games. It appears that Apple Intelligence may end up being stunted in the EU. Currently there is no planned release date for Apple Intelligence in the EU. The day it releases it will likely be a US-only service. It will likely expand to other markets before it hits the EU (in whatever condition).

The one on Android failed hence the lawsuit against Google.

The Epic Store on Android didn't fail. It was quashed by Google because of the same payments dispute as the iOS App Store situation.

Epic Games actually won their antitrust case against Google late last year so at some point their app will likely reappear back on the Android App Store just like the iOS version is trying to make a reappearance on the iOS platform.

Epic Games thought both Apple and Google were taking too big of a cut and fought to get third-party payment alternatives. The EU DMA facilitated this on the iOS side. In any case, the iOS App Store walled garden is opening up a wee bit, at least in the EU.

Apple is walking a very fine line between protecting its turf and violating antitrust laws. Naturally where that line falls varies based on jurisdiction and can change over time as new regulations are introduced and enforced.

As an American Apple customer, the American laws affect me the most but what happens elsewhere affects Apple (and also its revenue stream). Of course, most Americans with some sort of retirement account or pension plan are indirect shareholders of Apple so it's not like most Americans can stick their head in the sand and say it doesn't matter to them. Ultimately how much money Apple (or any other company) deposits in their bank affects most American adults.

While I do agree that app publishers should have the option of offering other payment choices, I personally don't want to give Tim Sweeney a dime. As far as I'm concerned, he can suck it.