Apple reverses course and ends blockade of Fortnite maker Epic’s mobile app store in Europe

“We have communicated with Epic, and the company is committed to complying with regulations, including DMA,” an Apple spokesperson said. “As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been re-accepted into the Apple Developer Program.”

Open to competition

Under the Digital Markets Act, or DMA, a historic legislative enactment that came into force in the EU on Thursday, six of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Apple, are obliged to open their platforms to competition.

Epic boss Tim Sweeney called the turnaround “a great victory for the European rule of law, for the European Commission and for the freedom of developers around the world”.

Earlier this week, the maker of Fortnite announced that it had been blocked by Apple from offering an alternative app store to the iPhone maker. Specifically, Apple closed Epic’s Sweden-based developer account on March 2, which allowed it to build the software it needed to launch its own stores on Apple devices in Europe.

Attitude of “feudal rulers”.

For Tim Sweeney, this was a retaliatory move from Apple, due to his numerous public criticisms of the Californian group. He compared the trend of apple brands to “feudal lords installing the skulls of their former enemies on their castles” to “discourage others from speaking out”.

Epic has been hitting the courts and contacting authorities for years to force Apple and Google to open up their mobile operating systems, iOS and Android (installed on most smartphones), specifically to their alternative download stores for apps. Now they don’t need to pay commission on user purchases.

These demands were included in a long list of commandments to the DMA’s dominant platform.