After the rest of this announcement
For more than three years, Fortnite Epic Games is no longer accessible on the iOS platform following Apple’s exclusion of the game and the suspension of Epic Games due to the introduction of unauthorized in-app payments. The new law, the Digital Markets Act, is a game-changer for the European market.
Epic VS Apple
The legal battle between the two companies began after Apple removed Epic Games from its App Store in 2020 for discounting Epic Games, which used Epic’s payment system instead of Apple’s App Store for in-game purchases.
Epic Games, which wanted to avoid paying the requested 30% commission on in-game purchases from the App Store, and to circumvent Apple’s system more broadly, filed suit in federal court in California, arguing that ‘Apple had a monopoly on mobile games. . .
In 2021, following the trial, A federal judge ruled in favor of Apple On most complaints, assuming that the company does not have a monopoly in the mobile games market. Epic Games and Apple have both appealed, each hoping to overturn the portion of the ruling they lost. The appeals were rejected In January 2024.
Epic Game Store app on iOS?
A new European law on digital markets, which comes into effect in March, dictates that Apple must now allow developers to create and offer new apps (including new app stores) without going through the App Store within the European Union.
After this announcement, Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite will be making a comeback on iPhone and iPad In Europe later this year during 2024 Via the new Epic Mobile Games Store.
“Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024, distributed through the upcoming EpicGames Store for iOS. Stay tuned for more details as we establish regulatory deadlines. We will continue to argue before the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law.”, we can read on Epic’s newsroom account on X (formerly Twitter).
Apple was quick to change its terms to ensure that it earned money on apps not in the App Store: the company demanded that Apps downloaded more than one million times per year pay €0.50 for each more than one million downloads.
In a tweet posted today ahead of Fortnite’s announcement, Tim Sweeney, CEO and co-founder of Epic Gamessaid: “Apple’s plan to thwart Europe’s new digital market law is another example of malicious compliance. They force developers to choose between App Store exclusivity and store terms, which would be illegal under the Digital Markets Act, or accept a new anti-competitive system that’s also illegal, including new taxes on downloads and new Apple fees on what they don’t pay. with taxes. t process“
It seems that the Epic VS Apple war is far from over, even though Apple users will soon be able to find their beloved Fortnite on their devices.
