This time, Epic Games filed an injunction, asking the court to force Apple into listing Fortnite on the App Store once again until a final decision is made.
In late August, Apple kept its word and they removed Epic Games’ developer accounts from the App Store, resulting in all of Epic’s games getting wiped from Apple’s App Store, including Fortnite. The apple-logo company clearly stated that it would allow Epic to come back if they reverted their direct payment method, accepting Apple to take the 30% cut. Reuters reports that Tim Sweeney’s company now tries (again) to force Apple to make Fortnite available. „This [removal] was a clear warning to any other developer that would dare challenge Apple’s monopolies: follow our rules or we will cut you off from a billion iOS consumers – challenge us and we will destroy your business,” Epic claims. Keep in mind that Fortnite has also been wiped from Google’s Play Store, and the reason behind it is the same (the 30% cut).
Epic Games added, „the user outcry has been deafening, showing real harm to the public interest. Daily active users on iOS have declined by over 60% since Fortnite’s removal from the App Store. And removal already has resulted in a loss of goodwill and irreparable damage to Epic’s reputation.” They mean that if someone would like to re-download Fortnite, they now have no legal way to do, plus the game’s iOS version cannot be updated, and it’s slowly getting obsolete. Epic claims 210 million players lost access to Fortnite.
Epic Games might be exaggerating. Maybe not. But those who have an iOS device likely also own a PlayStation 4, a Nintendo Switch, or even a PC, to play Fortnite. Also, Apple previously tried to lure Amazon onto the App Store to make its Prime Video available there in return for a 15% cut! Giving big companies special treatment?
Source: WCCFTech, DualShockers
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