Fortnite
maker
Epic Games
announced it plans to launch the
Epic Games Store
on the iPhone and for that it secured Epic Games Sweden AB a developer account. This means that the users will be able to let users download Fortnite on iPhones again. But
Apple
has now terminated that account, leaving Epic Games’ plans in a lurch.
“We recently announced that Apple approved our Epic Games Sweden AB developer account.
We intended to use that account to bring the Epic Games Store and Fortnite to
iOS
devices in Europe thanks to the
Digital Markets Act
(DMA). To our surprise, Apple has terminated that account and now we cannot develop the Epic Games Store for iOS. This is a serious violation of the DMA and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices,” Epic Games said.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) – which will come into force on March 7 – requires Apple to allow third-party app stores.
“In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store,” it said.
Why Apple terminated Epic Games account
One of the reasons why Apple terminated Epic Games’ developer account a few weeks after approving it is because the video game company publicly criticised their proposed DMA compliance plan.
Here’s the tweet which led to Epic Games’ account termination:
“Apple is retaliating against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices, just as they’ve done to other developers time and time again,” Epic Games said. Apple also claimed that Epic is a threat to their ecosystem.
What Apple has to say
Apple said that courts gave the company the right to terminate any or all of Epic Games accounts.
“Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.’ In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right,” Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz told The Verge.
English (US) ·