The new designated president of the USA is controversial. Tim Sweeney, CEO and founder of Epic Games, is now criticizing large tech corporations for their support. Because that is just economic calculation. Instead, they are trying to enrich themselves and would thereby harm players in the long run.
What does Sweeney say? Sweeney writes that the big tech companies are currently all on the side of the Republicans, including Trump, in the USA. And they only do this to become popular there. He calls the approach a “disgraceful monopoly campaign” and warns that it could especially harm consumers. He explains this on X.com/Twitter:
After pretending to be Democrats for years, the leading representatives of Big Tech are now posing as Republicans, hoping to become popular with the new government. Beware of the disgraceful monopoly campaign that defames competition law while they fleece consumers and destroy competitors.
Sweeney and Epic have been in conflict with Google and Apple for years
What is Sweeney’s problem? Sweeney and his company Epic Games have been in conflict with competition regulators in the USA for a long time, especially with Apple and Google.
Epic wants to distribute games, especially its long-standing hit Fortnite, on iPhones and Android devices without using the official app stores. Because there, Epic would have to pay high fees for in-game purchases to the store. The high fees have been criticized by Epic for a long time.
When Epic started selling Fortnite Bucks (in-game currency) externally to circumvent the fees, Google and Apple banned Fortnite from their stores. A dispute followed, in which Apple closed all developer accounts of Epic developers. This also affected games and developers using Epic’s Unreal Engine. To this day, the dispute has not been completely resolved.
Sweeney may therefore feel threatened in his own position, as his major opponents want to establish a better position here. While Sweeney warns that his declared opponents want to fleece consumers
, it is likely that Epic is also looking for financial gains.
How is it with us? In the EU, there is the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which offers the advantage that large manufacturers such as Apple or Google must also offer alternative app installation options.
For this reason, you can install the Epic Store and Fortnite again in Germany on your iPhone or Android phone. There is no Digital Markets Act in the USA.
If you want to install Fortnite or other Epic games on your phone again, check out our guide on MeinMMO. Here we explain step by step how you can get the popular shooter back on your iPhone: Fortnite on Apple: How to install the Battle Royale shooter on your iOS device
