After the lawsuits, the dispute over Fortnite enters the next round. According to Epic Games, Apple has now threatened with further retaliatory measures – and these could have catastrophic consequences for the game and developers on iOS and Mac platforms.
This is what Epic says: After Apple and Google recently removed Fortnite from their app stores and Epic had sued both of them for it, the exchange of blows around the mobile version of Fortnite apparently enters the next round.
As Epic Games said in a statement on August 18, Apple has threatened further retaliation if Epic does not back down within 2 weeks. And this retaliation could have catastrophic consequences for the creators of Fortnite.
Epic has 2 weeks to back down on Fortnite
What exactly has Apple threatened? As Epic recently announced via its official Twitter account, Apple apparently threatened in a letter to close all developer accounts of Epic developers and cut them off from all iOS and Mac development tools.
This step would take place if Epic does not come to its senses by August 28 and reverse its introduced changes for direct purchases of currency.
What would this mean for Epic? Apple would effectively exclude the developers of Epic Games from the Apple Developer Program. However, membership there is necessary to release apps for iOS devices. Additionally, Epic’s devs would also be cut off from the developer tools needed for Apple platforms.
Epic would also not be able to approve any Mac apps anymore. This could make it more difficult or completely impossible to install software from Epic on the corresponding platforms. All apps must first be approved there before they can run on a newer version of macOS – even if they are released outside the App Store.
And last but not least, this could lead to problems for iOS games based on Epic’s Unreal Engine that go far beyond Epic. Many mobile titles are based on the engine, which is popular among developers – even in Apple’s own arcade game service. Here, the dispute could theoretically make it harder to develop new iOS games or updates if Apple restricts access to the software.
This is how Epic reacts to the threatened retaliation: Epic has subsequently filed for a temporary restraining order against Apple in the competent court. The company behind Fortnite argues that it would otherwise suffer irreparable harm – long before a verdict is reached in the actual process.
“Apple’s actions will irreparably harm Epic’s reputation with Fortnite users and be catastrophic for the future of the standalone Unreal Engine business,” it says literally, among other things. Epic also demands that Fortnite returns to Apple’s App Store – along with the direct purchase function and the associated lowered prices for the in-game currency V-Bucks.
You can take a look at the application for the temporary restraining order yourself.
What does Apple say? The tech giant has so far not commented on the latest developments in the dispute over Fortnite. A spokesperson referred to an old statement, where they explained that they made this unfortunate step (to remove Fortnite) because the App Store guidelines were violated.
What is the dispute actually about? Here are the key points in brief:
Epic recently rebelled against Apple and Google. The creators of Fortnite implemented a direct purchase for V-Bucks in an update, which allows users to bypass app store fees. V-Bucks are permanently cheaper and therefore more attractive in direct purchase from Epic.
Apple and Google then responded by removing Fortnite from their app stores. Epic then sued both tech giants and attacked Apple with a video shown to anyone logging into Fortnite. With the threat of new retaliatory measures from Apple and Epic’s application, the whole matter has now entered the next round.
You can find more details here: The story behind Fortnite 1984, the attack on Apple and #FreeFortnite
