The battle between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games continues as Epic is appealing to European Union antitrust regulators to take action, Reuters reports Wednesday.
The report notes that Epic is turning to Europe after “failing to make headway” in the United States. The EU already has multiple antitrust investigations ongoing involving Apple. These concern the App Store and Apple Pay, both of which they are concerned show Apple abusing its marketplace position.
Epic has also previously made complaints to the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and to an Australian regulatory watchdog. It is not asking for damages from Apple in the UK, Australia, or the EU. In the U.S., Epic is due to battle it out with Apple in court, commencing May.
The story so far…
The details in the Epic vs. Apple feud so far are well known. The battle kicked off in August 2020 when Epic introduced a means by which Fortnite players could circumvent the App Store to buy in-app purchases. This deprived Apple of its 30% commission.
Apple then made the call to boot Fortnite from the App Store. Epic immediately responded with a lawsuit taking aim at Apple for its allegedly monopolistic behavior. The two companies have been fighting back and forth since then. Epic frames it as a battle over freedom and App Store control by Apple. Apple frames it in simpler terms. In a court filing made in September, Apple argued that, “Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money.”
However, Epic’s CEO, Tim Sweeney, disagrees. “The 30% they charge as their app tax, they can make it 50% or 90% or 100%,” he said. “Under their theory of how these markets are structured, they have every right to do that. Epic is not asking any court or regulator to change this30% to some other number, only to restore competition on iOS.”
Source: Reuters
