When Epic Games announced its big return to iOS, Apple ultimately decided otherwise.
An announcement that comes at a bad time because the DMA, the European directive for better competition, must be effective from this Thursday, March 7. Epic Games has just announced that it has “surprised” to discover that its Apple developer account has been terminated.
There is no Fortnite on iOS
Such news kills the possibility for Epic Games to release its successful battle royale, Fortnite, on iOS. It was banned from the App Store and was a key actor in the actual legal marathon between 2022 and 2023, where studios complained about competition issues on the Apple App Store.
Above all, it prevented the development of an alternative app store that Epic Games was preparing on iOS, in response to one of the measures desired by the DMA, which forced Apple to open up its operating system: “It” is a serious matter. violates the DMA and shows that Apple does not intend to allow real competition on iOS devices,” the studio warns.
The studio explains that its Swedish subsidiary’s developer account was approved through Apple’s official process, before the American company’s lawyers ultimately signaled otherwise despite Epic’s promises to respect the rules.
Epic Games explains that it was Tim Sweeney’s words that ignited the situation and forced Apple to act. Studio bosses were in fact sharply critical of Apple’s DMA compliance plan. But Apple also adds that it’s because Epic is “a threat to the (iOS) ecosystem.”
In its press release, Epic Games also recalls its longstanding work with Apple. It was thus one of the first studios to be published in a keynote, presentation Epic Citadel And Infinity Blade, and Apple is working on developing support for Vision Pro with its graphics engine, Unreal Engine. In addition, many iOS developers, who are not affiliated with Epic, use Unreal Engine, which is fully compatible with iPhone, iPad, even Mac.
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