The “war” waged by Epic Games and Apple brings cause for a head-on collision that occurred between the two about six months ago, and Fortnite was at the center of a controversy that, in the end, was not exclusive to the App Store, but extended to the Google Play Store.
Epic Games asks Europe to release Fortnite and sues Apple
Let’s face it, Epic Games did not do things right shortly after it became known that they intended to go all out against Apple, we discovered that Tim Sweeney himself had asked for favorable treatment from Tim Cook and that they wanted to open their app store in the App Store without having to give anything in return. It was such an abusive request that it was ridiculous, and, normally, Apple ignored it.
Let’s put that request in context, if we translate it to the physical world it would be like Apple allowing Microsoft to sell its Surface product line inside its Apple Stores, and without receiving any special compensation in return. Yes, it’s an absurdity, but it seemed fair and necessary to Epic Games.
Speaking of fair and necessary things, note the irony in my expression, Epic Games has extended its legal fight against Apple, and has taken it to European territory by launching a direct request to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition: Free Fortnite from Apple.
Epic Games talks about free competition and argues that Apple has created iOS, and the App Store, as a closed platform that only serves its benefit. I guess the thousands of developers who make millions in revenue through the App Store could tell Tim Sweeney’s company a thing or two, but in the end, there’s no need to make it so complicated.
At the time, Epic Games agreed to a set of must-have rules to get into the App Store. As a company, you have access to a secure platform that gives you everything you need and allows you to reach hundreds of millions of users, and you have to pay, in return, a commission that you know in advance, and that will not change depending on the sales you make. It was simple, but Epic Games decided to bend the rules and didn’t listen to reason, so it’s only natural that Apple took action.
After Apple took such measures, Epic Games considered the whole thing an injustice, victimized itself, and started filing lawsuits, something that Apple itself responded to with a countersuit. I am surprised that a company of the caliber of Epic Games does not understand that rules are there to be followed, if you think they are not fair you can take appropriate action, but if you ask for favored treatment and stop complying because you are denied, you must be willing to accept the consequences.
