The legal disputes between Epic Games and Apple continue, but they now spill into the old continent as well.

Let’s quote from Epic Games’ statement, where they confirmed that they made a formal antitrust complaint about Apple to the European Commission: „The complaint […] alleges that through a series of carefully designed anti-competitive restrictions, Apple has not just harmed but eliminated competition in-app distribution and payment processes. Apple uses its control of the iOS ecosystem to benefit itself while blocking competitors and its conduct is an abuse of a dominant position and in breach of EU competition law.”

„What’s at stake here is the very future of mobile platforms. Consumers have the right to install apps from sources of their choosing and developers have the right to compete in a fair marketplace. We will not stand idly by and allow Apple to use its platform dominance to control what should be a level digital playing field. It’s bad for consumers, who are paying inflated prices due to the complete lack of competition among stores and in-app payment processing. And it’s bad for developers, whose very livelihoods often hinge on Apple’s complete discretion as to who to allow on the iOS platform, and on which terms,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said.

Sweeney calls Apple’s App Store commission of 30% a tax, which is why Epic Games introduced an in-app way for microtransactions in Fortnite to dodge Apple’s rules. This is why the company – along with Google’s Play Store – removed the popular battle royale game from its store. Apple announced in November that they took the commission to 15% for developers that generate less than a million dollars of revenue in a year. Epic Games pulls more than that.

In the statement, Epic said that they are not asking for Apple damages – instead, they want timely and effective remedies to address Apple’s anti-competitive practices. „We just want to see a prohibition on these platform companies using their control over the hardware to exert control over secondary markets and force them to compete on equal terms with every competitor,” Sweeney told to The Financial Times.

Grab some popcorn, everyone: this slap fight is going to continue throughout the year.

Source: WCCFTech