The now long-running App Store dispute between Apple and Epic Games, maker of hit app Fortnite, was said to begin in August 2020.That was when Apple pulled the game for violating App Store rules. Choose how you would like to sign up. Sign up with email. Sign up with Facebook. According to Bloomberg, Epic Games is claiming that Apple's decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store was unlawful, and the company is aiming to get Apple to allow Fortnite back into.
Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple’s App Store rules to the European Union, where it’s lodged a complaint with the bloc’s antitrust regulators. In a blog post today the maker of. Epic Games (previously Fortnite Installer) is an app that -just as its name suggests- lets you install Fortnite on mobile devices. Download the legendary Battle Royale game to your smartphone with this official Epic Games app. Using Epic Games couldn't be easier, as the app itself checks if your device can run the game or not.
© Bloomberg The Epic Games Inc. Fortnite: Battle Royale video game is seen in the App Store on an Apple Inc. iPhone displayed for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, May 10, 2018. Fortnite, the hit game that's denting the stock prices of video-game makers after signing up 45 million players, didn't really take off until it became free and a free-for-all.(Bloomberg) -- Epic Games Inc. failed again to force Apple Inc. to put Fortnite back in its App Store while the game developer pursues its antitrust claims against the iPhone maker.
A federal judge in Oakland, California, on Friday rejected Epic’s bid for a preliminary injunction that would have required Apple to reinstate the battle royale video game in the App Store -- and allowed Epic to use its own payment option. Apple had removed Fortnite in August after Epic set up a direct-pay option for in-game purchases that circumvented Apple’s pay system.
It’s Epic’s second setback in its lawsuit alleging that Apple runs its App Store as an illegal monopoly because developers are barred from making their iPhone and iPad apps available through their own websites. Instead, Apple allows only downloads and payments through the App Store, and takes 30% of the purchase price. The case is now headed for trial next year.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says
Epic’s antitrust lawsuit threatens the billions of dollars in revenue the App Store generates.
-- Jennifer Rie, Senior Litigation Analyst
For a full report click here
While Epic isn’t seeking monetary damages, it’s asking for an order enjoining Apple’s rules and opening iOS devices to rival app distributors and payment systems, which could substantially curb App Store revenue, Rie said.
In a consolation for Epic, the judge stuck with her earlier ruling that Apple can’t cut Epic’s Unreal Engine from its developers’ tool program because the software program that is used by third-party developers isn’t part of the antitrust fight.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in her ruling that she was unwilling to tilt the playing field in favor of either side because of the novelty and the magnitude of the issues raised in the lawsuit concerning competition in digital marketplaces.
“This matter presents questions at the frontier edges of antitrust law in the United States,” Rogers said. “Simply put, no analogous authority exists. The questions and issues raised in this litigation concern novel and innovative business practices in the technology market that have not otherwise been the subject of antitrust litigation.”
The judge reiterated her position that Epic’s predicament is of its own making because it breached its contract with Apple by inserting a hotfix in Fortnite to circumvent Apple’s pay system. Epic “flatly” rejected the judge’s proposal that, if Epic put Fortnite back on Apple without the hotfix, Apple’s 30% take of in-game purchases would be placed in an escrow account until the case is decided at trial, according to the ruling.
“Epic Games is grateful that Apple will continue to be barred from retaliating against Unreal Engine and our game development customers as the litigation continues,” a company spokesman said. “We will continue to develop for iOS and Mac under the court’s protection and we will pursue all avenues to end Apple’s anti-competitive behavior.”
Apple denies running its App Store as a monopoly and contends that it faces fierce competition in every market in which it operates, including gaming.
“We’re grateful the court recognized that Epic’s actions were not in the best interests of its own customers and that any problems they may have encountered were of their own making when they breached their agreement,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple has said that Epic Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney sought a “side” deal seeking an exclusive storefront for Fortnite, a move that Apple executives argued would fundamentally upend how the App Store works. Sweeney maintains he wasn’t asking for special treatment but for Apple to make the same option available to all developers.
Epic Games Official Site
Unreal Engine is a suite of software used by developers to build 3-D games and other products. Cutting off Epic from Apple’s iOS and Mac developer tools would mean the gaming company can no longer distribute Unreal Engine to other developers, Epic has said. Microsoft Corp., which makes the Xbox, uses the technology for games developed for consoles, PCs and mobile devices, and is backing Epic in court.
The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., 20-cv-05640, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).
(Updates with judge’s reasoning in sixth paragraph.)
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©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Epic vs. Apple/Google
View more storiesApple's bitter legal dispute with Epic Games over the distribution of Fortnite on iOS has now managed to rope in Valve. Apple has subpoenaed the Steam maker for a wide range of PC game sales data it says is crucial to its case. But Valve is fighting back against that subpoena, saying its information is proprietary, not relevant to Apple's case, and would be costly and difficult to generate.
As discussed in a joint letter from Apple and Valve filed with the Northern District of California court this week, Apple's November subpoena seeks two large categories of information that Valve is refusing to provide:
- Documents sufficient to show Valve’s: (a) total yearly sales of apps and in-app products; (b) annual advertising revenues from Steam; (c) annual sales of external products attributable to Steam; (d) annual revenues from Steam; and (e) annual earnings (whether gross or net) from Steam; as well as
- (a) The name of each App on Steam; (b) the date range when the App was available on Steam; and (c) the price of the App and any in-app product available on Steam.
While Valve has responded to some other parts of Apple's subpoena, Apple says that information has been 'so heavily redacted that Apple cannot discern what information they might contain.'
Why do you need it?
The requested information, Apple says, is key to establishing other platforms that 'may be economic substitutes' for the iOS App Store when it comes to distributing Fortnite, as discussed in previous rulings in the case. Valve's information is 'crucial for calculating the total size of the market for Epic’s available digital distribution channels,' Apple says.
But Valve argues that Steam is an unrelated sideshow in the battle between Apple and Epic. 'Valve does not make or sell phones, tablets, or video games for mobile devices, or otherwise compete in the mobile market,' the company writes. 'Fortnite is not available on Steam, and Epic has publicly and unequivocally stated it will not offer Fortnite on Steam unless Valve changes its business model.'
Advertisement While Apple says that Valve 'admits that the information requested exists in some undisclosed, readily accessible format,' Valve says complying would involve 'an overwhelming amount of work' and 'would impose an extraordinary burden on Valve to query, process, and combine a massive amount of [information] to create the documents Apple seeks.'
Valve says that process would involve collating information from at least four separate databases for thousands of separate items. Valve also says Apple has not offered to cover the costs of this
Epic Games App For Fortnite Xbox One
Valve also argues that the fact that it's a private company offers an important distinction from the public Samsung. 'Valve has chosen to stay private in part to avoid the burden of the public company disclosure and reporting requirements that companies like Samsung or Google are subject to,' the company writes. 'Valve does not disclose its sales and revenue information and projections, and Valve derives a significant value and edge from the confidentiality of such information, including by keeping it out of the hands of companies like Epic who also sell PC games.'
Valve's argument takes on added relevance given the company's 2018 decision to effectively block services like Steam Spy or Ars' own Steam Gauge from creating public estimates of Steam game sales based on samples of individual public user account data. Valve said in July of 2018 that it was working on a 'more accurate' replacement for that Steam Spy data but has only released sporadic and incomplete summaries of the Steam marketplace in the years since.Fortnite Apple News
In any case, Apple argues that any confidential or sensitive competitive information provided by Valve could be covered by a protective order, such as the one in place for Samsung. Apple also argues that 'the information sought by this request does not detail future plans or involve strategic assessments... there is no substantial risk of competitive or economic harm [to Valve].”
But Valve remains adamant that the information is private and unnecessary for Apple's current legal fight. 'Somehow, in a dispute over mobile apps, a maker of PC games that does not compete in the mobile market or sell 'apps' is being portrayed as a key figure,' Valve writes. 'It’s not.'