Epic Games just moved to the European Union antitrust regulators in its legal battle against Apple in the latest development.
According to Reuters, the battle between Epic Games and Apple has now moved to antitrust regulators of the EU. The Fortnite developer decided to head towards Europe after failing in a U.S. court.
The ongoing dispute is due to the California tech giant’s App Store payment systems. And it also regards the control on the app downloads.
Apple vs. Epic Games: A serious matter now?
Since August 2020, both these well-known companies are fighting each other. The gaming developer initially tried gaining a portion from Apple’s 30 percent fee on some in-app purchases. In simple words, Epic Games decided to launch its in-app payment system over App Store.
The iPhone maker didn’t like it and immediately removed the Fortnite developer from its store. In addition to that, Apple also threatened to terminate an account that would have blocked Unreal Engine’s distribution. An engine is a tool that many app makers use while creating games.
As a result of this, Epic Games founder and chief executive Tim Sweeney said the California tech giant’s controlling nature affected the level playing field.
“The 30% they charge as their app tax, they can make it 50% or 90% or 100%. Under their theory of how these markets are structured, they have every right to do that,” he told reporters.
“Epic is not asking any court or regulator to change this 30% to some other number, only to restore competition on IOS.”
Moving further, the gaming company also accused Apple of stopping rivals from launching their subscription service on App Store. Because of its service, Arcade does that.
The iPhone maker, on the other hand, denied such claims. It said that the rules apply to all the developers equally and that Epic had violated them. Answering its statement, the company said:
“In ways, a judge has described as deceptive and clandestine, Epic enabled a feature in its app, which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines that apply equally to every developer and protect customers.”
The growing rivalry among tech giants
The increasing competition between the companies has resulted in many debates and discussions lately, especially when it comes to those names involved in technology and gaming. Because both these fields always go hand-in-hand.
Coming back to Apple and Epic Games’ battle then it can be called a clear case of indirect monopoly. Although it’s not visible, those who can observe can’t deny this either. Yes, the iPhone-making company is right, mainly in its actions. But it can’t be the case always.
One big reason for this might be the Fortnite developer’s willingness to stretch the legal battle even further now.
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