The battle between Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games rages on as the latter has filed a complaint with the UK’s competition regulator, complaining about Apple’s alleged anticompetitive behavior.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority earlier this month revealed that it had opened an investigation of Apple. This followed complaints from app developers that its conditions are not fair. Now Epic is chiming in to add its support to the complaint.
Apple last year lowered the 30% commission it takes from paid apps and in-app purchased to 15% for the majority of devs. However, this has not warded off all criticism, since it still involves Apple obliging developers to use its payment system rather than being able to operate from outside the App Store.
This is what first caused the rift with Epic. In August 2020, Epic began offering a way to let users circumvent the App Store to buy Fortnite in-app purchases. In the aftermath, Apple made the call to boot Fortnite from the App Store, charging that Epic had broken its developer agreement. Epic immediately responded with a lawsuit taking aim at Apple for its allegedly monopolistic behavior.
The two have been battling back and forth ever since. Epic claims that Apple is abusing its position as controller of the App Store. Meanwhile, in a court filing made in September, Apple argued that, “Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money.”
Epic Games vs. Apple
In a new statement, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney said that Apple is following a path that leads to “artificially inflated costs for consumers, and [stifles] innovation among developers.”
Meanwhile, Apple said that: “It is not surprising that Epic is pushing their agenda before the UK Competition and Markets Authority, as we have seen them use the same playbook around the world.”
Epic and Apple are scheduled to go to court in the United States in May, 2021.
Source: Reuters
