Apple threatens to close Epic Games developer account on Aug. 28
Epic Games on Monday said Apple is threatening to terminate its developer account, a move that would cut it off from iOS and macOS development tools.
Credit: AppleInsider
Epic informed the public of the upcoming termination over Twitter, stating that it is requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent Apple from taking "any adverse action against it."
The restraining order against Apple's actions also asks that the court prevent Apple from "removing, de-listing, refusing to list or otherwise making unavailable the app Fortnite, including any update thereof, from the App Store on the basis that Fortnite offers in-app payment processing through means other than Apple's IAP or on any pretextual basis."
Apple's letter to Epic, which is included in the court filing, leads with:
"Upon further review of the activity associated with your Apple Developer Program membership, we have identified several violations of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Therefore, your Apple Developer Program account will be terminated if the violations set forth below are not cured within 14 days."
As part of the removal, Apple is stripping Epic of access to software development tools, effectively neutering the company's Unreal Engine and with it hundreds of iOS and Mac apps. Epic in its filing claims the software, which is licensed to third-party developers, did not violate Apple policy.
"Apple is attacking Epic's entire business in unrelated areas," Epic said in its lawsuit.
The current fight between the two behemoths started on Aug. 14, when Epic instated "direct payments" for the massively popular game Fortnite, effectively sidestepping Apple's 30% commission on digital goods.
Less than eight hours later, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, saying that Epic had violated Apple's decade-old App Store terms and conditions.
Epic, anticipating the move, responded with a lawsuit alleging 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."
Epic has long been critical of Apple's 30% digital commission fee, with CEO Tim Sweeney calling it an "absolute monopoly" in July.
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.
Credit: AppleInsider
Epic informed the public of the upcoming termination over Twitter, stating that it is requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent Apple from taking "any adverse action against it."
The restraining order against Apple's actions also asks that the court prevent Apple from "removing, de-listing, refusing to list or otherwise making unavailable the app Fortnite, including any update thereof, from the App Store on the basis that Fortnite offers in-app payment processing through means other than Apple's IAP or on any pretextual basis."
Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8
-- Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom)
Apple's letter to Epic, which is included in the court filing, leads with:
"Upon further review of the activity associated with your Apple Developer Program membership, we have identified several violations of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement. Therefore, your Apple Developer Program account will be terminated if the violations set forth below are not cured within 14 days."
As part of the removal, Apple is stripping Epic of access to software development tools, effectively neutering the company's Unreal Engine and with it hundreds of iOS and Mac apps. Epic in its filing claims the software, which is licensed to third-party developers, did not violate Apple policy.
"Apple is attacking Epic's entire business in unrelated areas," Epic said in its lawsuit.
The current fight between the two behemoths started on Aug. 14, when Epic instated "direct payments" for the massively popular game Fortnite, effectively sidestepping Apple's 30% commission on digital goods.
Less than eight hours later, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store, saying that Epic had violated Apple's decade-old App Store terms and conditions.
Epic, anticipating the move, responded with a lawsuit alleging 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."
Epic has long been critical of Apple's 30% digital commission fee, with CEO Tim Sweeney calling it an "absolute monopoly" in July.
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.
Comments
Don’t like the rules Epic? Go somewhere else.
They want to use Apple's IP. In order to legally do that, they need Apple to license them the right to do so. Apple has been willing to do that, just as it has been willing to license that right to others. But in return developers have to - and should have to - agree to Apple's terms which are, all things considered, pretty reasonable. Apple built something incredible and brings a lot of value to developers - IP, access to an incredible user base, an effective stamp-of-approval from a very trusted gatekeeper, convenient payment mechanism. What it asks in return is, I think, pretty modest.
Developers are very important to the iOS ecosystem and should be able to make money from their apps or, if they don't directly monetize their apps, provide better service to their customers through their iOS apps. But what Apple brings is very important as well, and it deserves to make money off of what it built, the services it provides, and its IP. If you don't want to agree to Apple's reasonable terms, then you shouldn't get to use Apple's IP or its App Store. Does Epic Games think that others should be allowed to use its IP without having to agree to the terms which Epic Games might impose?
Apple would lose out on Unreal Engine 5 as well it sounds like.
This is not Apple attacking all of Epic's entire business but a gross miscalculation from Epic's part. If they sell services to third parties that are based on Apple support/rules, and they decide to challenge Apple by not only breaking the rules of their developer's account, but also suing them, they are the ones that created a horrible situation for their other customers who use the Unreal Engine. It looks like Epic's CEO bravado is much better than its legal team!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games
A recent mainstream game for the Mac is Borderlands 3, but it requires a graphics card of 8 GB on the Mac ! What a game engine is that !
So not many people will miss them once they are gone, and the whole affair will be forgotten in a couple of months even in the blogosphere that feeds it and life will continue as usual...
Also to the morons who say "Epic doesn't need Apple and Apple is not responsible for it's success".
Epic disagrees. From the lawsuit:
""The iOS userbase is enormous. There are nearly a billion iPhone users worldwide and over 1.5 billion active iOS devices, including both iPhones and iPads.
Personally I think Apple's 30% on sales is in line with other stores. I think they will be able to defend that as well.
I have a problem though, with the 30% on sales that do not go through Apple's ecosystem. Epic setting up their own payment system to go directly to their servers is logical and simplifies the transaction. Other that Apple taking their cut there is no reason for aftermarket purchases to go through Apple. It's like if I decided to drive for Uber and Toyota demanded a cut of what I got.
Apple gets paid nicely for hosting and selling the games. the cut of aftermarket sales is hard to justify. Oh and before anyone says that all of these companies would then have their games for free on the AppStore but you'd have to pay them directly to play them, yes that would be a problem. But Apple should deal with that real problem, not pretend that they deserve a cut of each Prime Video ans Spotify stream we get.
And guess who's panicking and having regrets? Not Apple:
"If the Unreal Engine can no longer support Apple platforms, the software developers that use it will be forced to use alternatives. The damage to Epic’s ongoing business and to its reputation and trust with its customers will be unquantifiable and irreparable."
-Epic legal document
Too bad they didn't think about the damage, reputation and trust affecting Apple when they pulled their dirty trick.
THIS. Is the PERFECT opportunity for Apple to develop a massive game engine for Apple Silicon Mac/iPad/iPhone for developers and obliterate Epic out of the market. Damn I miss Steve in times like these!
Epics arrogance sounds like the typical entitled elite who proudly declaring “I built this” without ever acknowledging the groundwork, infrastructure, and assistance they got on the way. Public risk/investment, but privatized profit.