Epic sues Apple after Fortnite removed from App Store
Fortnite creator Epic Games has leveled a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of unfair business practices after the popular battle royale game Fortnite was removed from the App Store.
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
On Thursday, Epic announced that it would sidestep Apple's 30% App Store commission fee by implementing direct payments. A few hours later, Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store.
Less than an hour later, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The complaint alleges that Apple has become a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition and stifle innovation," and claims that the company's size and reach "far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history."
Importantly, the lawsuit doesn't seek to argue whether Epic was actually abiding by Apple's developer guidelines. Instead, it takes aim at the guidelines themselves with claims that they are designed to stamp out competition.
Among other App Store policies, the lawsuit takes particular issue with Apple's 30% commission of in-app subscription purchases, a cut the games maker calls "exorbitant."
It also claims that Apple's policies to require developers to go through the App Store are also anticompetitive, stating that Epic would release its own competing app store were it not for Apple's rules.
The complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting "Apple's anti-competitive conduct" and any other "equitable relief necessary."
Along with the lawsuit, Epic Games called gamers and critics of App Store policies to action with the release of a video parodying Apple's famous "1984" Super Bowl ad spot. In the original, Apple is portrayed as the breaker of IBM's aging and despotic bonds. It is Apple -- depicted as a talking apple complete with worm -- that plays the part of tyrant in Epic's version.
The speed of the lawsuit's filing, as well as the video, suggest that Epic was planning for Fortnite's removal in advance.
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
On Thursday, Epic announced that it would sidestep Apple's 30% App Store commission fee by implementing direct payments. A few hours later, Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store.
Less than an hour later, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The complaint alleges that Apple has become a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition and stifle innovation," and claims that the company's size and reach "far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history."
Importantly, the lawsuit doesn't seek to argue whether Epic was actually abiding by Apple's developer guidelines. Instead, it takes aim at the guidelines themselves with claims that they are designed to stamp out competition.
Among other App Store policies, the lawsuit takes particular issue with Apple's 30% commission of in-app subscription purchases, a cut the games maker calls "exorbitant."
It also claims that Apple's policies to require developers to go through the App Store are also anticompetitive, stating that Epic would release its own competing app store were it not for Apple's rules.
The complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting "Apple's anti-competitive conduct" and any other "equitable relief necessary."
Along with the lawsuit, Epic Games called gamers and critics of App Store policies to action with the release of a video parodying Apple's famous "1984" Super Bowl ad spot. In the original, Apple is portrayed as the breaker of IBM's aging and despotic bonds. It is Apple -- depicted as a talking apple complete with worm -- that plays the part of tyrant in Epic's version.
The speed of the lawsuit's filing, as well as the video, suggest that Epic was planning for Fortnite's removal in advance.
Comments
A behemoth with how much of the mobile phone market exactly? Of the desktop market? Of the laptop market? Epic just wants free access to customers. This is a dead suit. Every reseller/store pays a wholesale price. And in grocery stores you also pay a shelving fee. If I won't pay that Safeway won't carry my product. So good luck here...
So what a epic wants is all the benefit of the App Store without any of the cost. They want preferential treatment. Apple can show that they have created an ecosystem for small development shops to flourish. They have done this using the revenue split model. Traditional brick and mortar stores make their money off selling shelf space at a premium so companies with more resources get preferential placement. That sounds to be what Epic wants.
At a minimum, Epic is morally bankrupt and has no ethics. Who in the world would want to work for a company that does something like this?
I read that as "It's not fair Apple is that successful."
Those people mean "We don't need cops getting paid to kill people" which is actually happening. Easy to criticize from the comfort of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
I've never agreed with Apple claiming a portion of all sales from an app even if those sales don't go through the AppStore.
Some have compared it to having rules for stocking things in your own store.
That's not it
Some have said that Epic and others are trying to profit while not paying for the store.
Not right either
Look at it this way. I have a store. You want to sell something, a computer let's say, in my store. I can and should get a cut of the price for my trouble of hosting your product That's fair.
But should I then demand a cut of everything else that is bought with that computer? I sell a Dell computer so anything purchased from Dell on that computer has to pay a toll back to me even if you're a thousand miles away from my store? Of course not, that would be absurd.
Yet Apple is demanding a slice of everything bought on Amazon Prime, and Kindle, and all in game purchases, and more, even if those transactions have nothing to do and go nowhere near Apple's store.
That has never felt right to me.
Apple should get a cute of sales in their store.
But that should be the end of it.
Oh and don't go around saying if they don't like it they can go elsewhere, to Android for example. Apple has the only store where developers make significant money. The profits from the android store is a fraction.
It's like saying if you don't want to pay my forever cut on sales you can go to the other store in the poor section of town where nobody can afford your stuff.
Not really a choice for most developers.
It's this kind of behavior that's getting Apple in trouble with antitrust hawks.
The Apple App Store is a subordinate market. It exists solely because of the iPhone and iPad. If Apple has a monopoly in the smartphone and tablet market, then sure, Epic has a case because that is the only way consumers can buy and play their games. But with Android out there, Epic cannot claim that Apple is shutting them out of the market. If they must sue someone, maybe they should sue Google and the Android phone manufacturers for putting out such lousy product that nobody wants to play Fortnite through their platform. But that's not true either because a lot of Android phone owners play Fortnite.
But LOL, we don't want to pay for any of that. It should be free because you sell phones or something.
Smartphones are now an expected element of culture in many ways, and because of that Epic believes Apple has an obligation to provide free and open access not only to Apple’s designs, APIs, development tools, but also their ecosystem, and therefore Apple’s reputation (if they do a bad job independently). Apparently they aren’t making enough money, and obviously they would have been as successful as they are without Apple. In fact, Epic actually owns Apple’s App Store, morally speaking, because they’re just so inherently awesome and important. (Sarcasm)
They have the option of pulling the App. It's not hard.
I agree 100% with Apple.
Even if Apple had a monopoly Epic still has no case. Of course anti-Apple Americans will try to screw Apple anyway.
iKnockoffs are having a hard time running Fortnite and Epic knows this. They're stupid for biting the hand that feeds them. I think Apple needs to go on a full on assault on anyone who tries screwing them over.