According to Fortnite developer Epic Games, on August 28th, Apple will terminate all developer accounts and “cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools.” As such, the company is requesting preliminary injunctive relief. The announcement was made on Twitter, and can be found in the Tweet below. The move represents the latest in a battle between the two companies that has already resulted in Fortnite‘s removal from the App Store. The game was removed following a new update for the game, which violated Apple’s terms of service. That same day, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, and now it seems that things are getting more heated between the two companies.
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Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store and has informed Epic that on Friday, August 28 Apple will terminate all our developer accounts and cut Epic off from iOS and Mac development tools. We are asking the court to stop this retaliation. Details here: https://t.co/3br1EHmyd8
— Epic Games Newsroom (@EpicNewsroom) August 17, 2020
The link in the above Tweet leads to a letter to the United States District Court. In the letter, Epic alleges that Apple’s actions will irreparably harm the company, as developers that use the Unreal Engine will be forced to use other alternatives. In the document, Epic states that it believes it will win its case against the company, but Apple’s actions will harm Epic’s reputation in a major way, and this should be considered retaliatory.
In addition to the lawsuit against Apple, Epic Games also filed a lawsuit against Google last week, following Fortnite‘s removal from the Play Store. The game was removed from both services following an update to Fortnite that allowed users to purchase DLC for the game without going through the App Store or Play Store. These newly listed prices were cheaper, to reflect the 30% fee on in-app purchases that Epic pays for the mobile versions of the game. Following Fortnite‘s removal, Epic released a video decrying Apple, and started a #FreeFortnite campaign on social media. It remains to be seen which side will come out on top in the lawsuit, but it doesn’t seem that things will be calming down anytime soon.
Fortnite is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.
What do you think about the current Fortnite controversy? Do you think Apple and Google will change their policies? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!
