Mike Peterson
Fortnite creator Epic Games has leveled a lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of unfair business practices after the popular battle royale game Fortnite was removed from the App Store.
On Thursday, Epic announced that it would sidestep Apple's 30% App Store commission fee by implementing direct payments. A few hours later, Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store.
Less than an hour later, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The complaint alleges that Apple has become a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition and stifle innovation," and claims that the company's size and reach "far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history."
Importantly, the lawsuit doesn't seek to argue whether Epic was actually abiding by Apple's developer guidelines. Instead, it takes aim at the guidelines themselves with claims that they are designed to stamp out competition.
Among other App Store policies, the lawsuit takes particular issue with Apple's 30% commission of in-app subscription purchases, a cut the games maker calls "exorbitant."
It also claims that Apple's policies to require developers to go through the App Store are also anticompetitive, stating that Epic would release its own competing app store were it not for Apple's rules.
The complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting "Apple's anti-competitive conduct" and any other "equitable relief necessary."
Along with the lawsuit, Epic Games called gamers and critics of App Store policies to action with the release of a video parodying Apple's famous "1984" Super Bowl ad spot. In the original, Apple is portrayed as the breaker of IBM's aging and despotic bonds. It is Apple — depicted as a talking apple complete with worm — that plays the part of tyrant in Epic's version.
The speed of the lawsuit's filing, as well as the video, suggest that Epic was planning for Fortnite's removal in advance.
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129 Comments
Probably not the best news for Apple as they’re already under investigation for anti-competitive business practices
Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on phones. If you don’t like the terms, you can always not sell your games in iOS. Android is the “leader” in phones anyway.
Pathetic. No company has a right to use another company's multi-billion dollar infrastructure for free. Who comes up with this stuff? Apple is not stopping Fortnite from creating it's own OS, phone, and App Store. They need to stop whining and get after it or sit down, way down.
How the hell is this escalating so fast??
The complaint alleges that Apple has become a "behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition and stifle innovation," and claims that the company's size and reach "far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history."
A behemoth with how much of the mobile phone market exactly? Of the desktop market? Of the laptop market? Epic just wants free access to customers. This is a dead suit. Every reseller/store pays a wholesale price. And in grocery stores you also pay a shelving fee. If I won't pay that Safeway won't carry my product. So good luck here...