This is how Epic’s CEO reacts: Sweeney reiterated his statement. He meant to say: “If the rules are wrong, then it is right not to follow those rules.”
It’s a good article. Hey critics, please read what I said and tell me if it’s actually wrong: When the rules were wrongful, it was right to disobey them. That’s the comparison to the civil rights movement. pic.twitter.com/WMomQXwEjr
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 18, 2020
Reaction to Apple’s new regulation?
This new rule was introduced by Apple: Even before the interview, Apple announced that they would now only demand 15% instead of 30% of the revenues from the companies using their services. However, this only applies to companies that make less than 1 million in revenue per year (from 2021) (via reddit). Fortnite would thus not be affected.
Tim Sweeney also reacted to this and suggested that Apple is likely trying to “divert as much negative criticism as possible to get away with their exclusion and the 30% claim in the App Store.” This seems to be what he wants to “fight” right now.
The dispute between Epic and Apple could last quite a while longer. For players who want to play Fortnite on their iOS devices, this means they will still have to wait. But it is also unclear how the court will ultimately decide.
The CEO of Epic Games “Tim Sweeney” spoke in an interview about the dispute between Epic and Apple regarding Fortnite. He compared the dispute to the civil rights movement, which fought for the rights of Black people. This did not sit well with some.
This is the dispute between Epic and Apple: After Epic Games had enabled the purchase of in-game currency “V-Bucks” directly via an update to bypass Apple’s App Store fees, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store. Google followed suit.
Subsequently, Epic Games sued Apple and Google. A dispute followed in which Apple threatened to close all developer accounts of Epic developers and eventually did so. This cut off the developers from the iOS and Mac tools, which had catastrophic consequences for games using the Unreal Engine. A court ruled that Apple had to restore access, but Fortnite remains excluded from the App Store.
According to Epic, this exclusion from the App Store is leading to massive drops in player numbers for Fortnite. Therefore, they asked the court to lift the ban from the Apple Store. This request was not granted to Epic, as the judge clearly stated: “Epic has simply not been honest with Apple.”
Dispute compared by Sweeney to fight for civil rights
This is what the CEO of Epic Games said: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Tim Sweeney talked about the dispute Epic is currently having with Apple. However, one of his comments drew attention.
The Epic CEO mentioned how Epic would stand up against Apple to defend their rights. He emphasizes this with a comparison to the civil rights movement in the United States.
Agreeing to Apple’s agreements is what is wrong. That’s why Epic has stood up against it, and you can hear that from them, and (…incomprehensible) to the fight for civil rights, when there were actually laws on the books and the laws were wrong. People stood up against it, and it was not wrong to disobey those laws, because agreeing with them would only have made them the status quo.
Tim Sweeney in interview
According to techcrunch.com, this strong statement reportedly caused eye-rolling among those present.
“White men love to pretend they are oppressed”
Here are the reactions: On Twitter, there are several comments critically addressing the civil rights comparison. With “Civil Rights Movement,” people in the USA primarily mean the civil rights movement that fought for the rights of Black people in the 50s and 60s. Many are displeased with the comparison of this movement to a dispute between two wealthy companies:
- “This just makes me side with Apple even more”
- “Rich white people love to act as if they are oppressed.”
- “White men with more money than most will ever see think they are being punished for breaking rules to make even more money is the same as being killed for your skin color. Okay.”
- “I love Epic, but saying that was just dumb.”
The site Gamerant reports that most comments pointed out that the comparison was not accurate.
Sweeney also forgot to mention that Epic violated a contract with Apple by implementing its own microtransactions.
This is how Epic’s CEO reacts: Sweeney reiterated his statement. He meant to say: “If the rules are wrong, then it is right not to follow those rules.”
It’s a good article. Hey critics, please read what I said and tell me if it’s actually wrong: When the rules were wrongful, it was right to disobey them. That’s the comparison to the civil rights movement. pic.twitter.com/WMomQXwEjr
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) November 18, 2020
Reaction to Apple’s new regulation?
This new rule was introduced by Apple: Even before the interview, Apple announced that they would now only demand 15% instead of 30% of the revenues from the companies using their services. However, this only applies to companies that make less than 1 million in revenue per year (from 2021) (via reddit). Fortnite would thus not be affected.
Tim Sweeney also reacted to this and suggested that Apple is likely trying to “divert as much negative criticism as possible to get away with their exclusion and the 30% claim in the App Store.” This seems to be what he wants to “fight” right now.
The dispute between Epic and Apple could last quite a while longer. For players who want to play Fortnite on their iOS devices, this means they will still have to wait. But it is also unclear how the court will ultimately decide.
