Apple took Epic's bait and kicked Fortnite off the App Store.
Lawsuits, money, power, the battle bus.
It's the war we didn't know we needed.
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If you're not a fortnight fan or if you've been busy Well, a lot has been happening on August 13.
Epic Games updated fortnight on mobile to include a direct payment option for vbucks.
It's in game currency.
There's a small problem with that.
So, Apple doesn't like it when companies try to get around paying them their cut of in app purchases.
They really don't like it.
In fact, it's a violation of App Store guidelines.
So Apple did it.
They yanked Fortnite off the App Store a few hours after the update went live, saying Epic made an unfortunate step and was angling for a special arrangement.
Apple also said App Store guidelines created a level playing field for developers.
That its payment system keeps customers data safe, and that it would work with Epic to sort all this out.
But I don't think epic wants to sort this out because it slapped Apple with a civil antitrust lawsuit almost immediately after fortnight was pulled and had a parody of Apple's iconic 1984 commercial waiting to play In the game shortly after that the direct payment move was bait.
Yes, Epic Games knew what was going to happen and they were ready.
In the Legal Brief epic game says Apple is a monopoly and the company wants relief to quote, fair competition.
When it comes to App distribution, they say they don't want special treatment because they represent 10s of thousands of developers all affected by Apple's walled app garden.
Basically, epic is saying Apple forces us to play by App Store rules and use Apple's payment system, which takes a 30% cut of revenue and we think that's super unfair.
This isn't just Apple vs Epic Games though.
Google, which takes the same 30% cut of app revenue from its own developers has also kicked fortnight out.
So they're not about to let this whole not pay us a cut of in-app purchases things slide either and in case you're wondering.
Yep, Epic Games had a lawsuit ready for them to which they filed shortly after being expelled from Google's Play Store.
So why is epic doing this now?
What is its goal and how can they win?
Well, Apple CEO Tim Cook just got done testifying on Capitol Hill a couple of weeks ago about the company's App Store policies and an antitrust hearing that included Facebook, Amazon and Google.
Apple ever retaliated against or disadvantage a developer who went public about their frustrations with that The App Store.
Sir, we don't do that.
Do not retaliate or bully people.
It's strongly against our company culture.
There's a real spotlight on those four big tech companies right now.
And in Apple's case, particularly on how it operates its App Store and whether or not it's anti-competitive.
Adding to that Apple also looked really bad this week when it said it would not support Microsoft's Xbox game streaming service X cloud.
Because hypothetically a games content might violate App Store guidelines, which in my opinion is a little bit of a shaky argument when you consider Apple allows YouTube on its devices.
Because everyone knows you can't control what people upload on YouTube.
Look at this video.
Anyway, Epic Games is definitely looking to take advantage of that spotlight and potentially force Apple to either fight back and look Even more anti-competitive, or relent in the hopes that that spotlight on Apple gets a little bit dimmer.
The goal here is simple.
Get Apple and Google to either allow direct payments for developers who can securely process their own and bypass giving the companies that 30% revenue cut, Or get them to lower the cut across the board to something they feel is more reasonable like save 10%.
The difference can then either be passed on to the customer through price cuts or developers can just pocket the additional revenue.
And use it to fund their companies.
The real question here though, is can epic win out if there is a company out there that is big enough and powerful enough to potentially take on Apple, it's Epic Games.
Not only, Only does fortnight bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Apple that 30% cut is definitely a moneymaker for them.
They also own Unreal Engine, a developer tool that supports creating games for just about Every gaming platform including IOS, it's an important partnership.
So there's a lot of incentive for Apple and epic to figure this out.
And let's not forget, it was Epic Games that finally got Sony to bend.
It's no cross platform multiplayer rule almost, Two years ago, which paved the way for Fortnite to be completely and fully cross-platform.
So it has scored this kind of industry shifting wind before.
They're also already getting support from other major companies like Spotify.
Who released this statement saying we applaud Epic Games decision to take a stand against apple?
With enough industry support and good legal arguments epic game CEO Tim Sweeney can make Apple and Google better than me.
On the other hand Apple has more than enough cash to go toe to toe with epics legal team and I personally don't foresee Tim Cook letting that 30% cut go without him.
Danger war.
What What do you think can watch Nabil?
Let them fight
I agree.
How do you guys think that should be settled?
I mean, my vote is a Tim v Tim Battle Royale.
Not in fortnight though.
We'll do it IRL on one of their private islands.
I mean, what one of them's got to own a private island right?
Right.
