On March 8, 2024, Apple reinstated Epic’s developer account, two days after this post appeared. The European Union (EU) has requested “further explanations” from Apple regarding its decision to close down the developer account of Fortnite publisher Epic Games, citing the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple says it does not trust Epic, citing the game developer’s history of untrustworthy actions. This is bad news for Epic, which had hoped to launch its own Epic Games Store on iOS in the EU now that Apple has been forced to open up to third-party stores there. But perhaps Apple has a point.
Apple fans will likely know the background story: Epic kicked off a wave of investigation, litigation, and complaint against Apple’s App Store business practices. By doing so, it broke its developer agreement and installed an external payment system within its app, which it knew Apple would reject. These moves were all pre-planned; the moment Apple evicted the errant developer, Epic sued and launched a well-financed, heavily planned litigation and publicity campaign against the so-called “Apple Tax.” It began legal action against Cupertino in multiple nations (most of which failed) and arguably put in action forces that culminated in the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which requires Apple to support third-party app stores and payment systems on its platforms.
Now with the DMA on its side, Epic planned on launching its own games service on iOS. And while it has publicly continued to slam the “Apple Tax” Cupertino wants from third parties offering such stores, it assured Apple it wouldn’t violate its App Store rules this time. Apple shut its account anyway, saying it couldn’t trust Epic.
What all this comes down to is that over the last few years Epic has cost Apple a great deal of time and trouble. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has become a voluble critic of Apple, turning to what could be considered quite emotive language in some of his posts. Apple cites one post in particular, in which Sweeney continued to slam Apple as a “monopolist” as he continued to be loudly critical of Apple’s approach to honoring the EU law. He has recently also accused Apple of “malicious compliance” with the DMA and said its recently revealed plans for third-party store in Europe are “hot garbage.” As well as continued taunts around that “Apple Tax,” he has also accused Apple of charging junk fees. (For reference, most developers on Apple platforms pay around 15% to Apple, while those on Fortnite’s money-losing games store pay around 12% at this time.)
Following the Epic leader’s most recent round of Apple bashing, Apple Fellow Phil Schiller wrote him to request written assurance that Epic will honor its commitments under its new developer deal, citing Sweeney’s statements about the DMA and asking: “In plain, unqualified terms, please…
2024-03-12 22:51:02
Article from www.computerworld.com
